“We are exerting utmost efforts to complete the project on time, and so far it is on schedule,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Hokail.
He said real estate properties in the path of the railway line are currently being removed to facilitate the construction of railroads.
The SRO chief refused to put an estimate on the total value of real estate property expropriated for the Haramain High Speed Rail project. “We don’t do the estimates, other government bodies are involved in it,” said Al-Hokail. “So I can’t comment on it.”
However, informed sources familiar with the project told Arab News that the total value of the acquired land is close to SR3 billion.
Al-Hokail called upon contractors to complete engineering designs for the remaining part of the railway as quickly as possible. “We have also told contractors to appoint more workers, deploy more equipment and increase working hours to complete the project on time,” he said.
“We have handed over railway station sites to the contractors, except part of the Makkah station, which will be handed over next month.”
Al-Hokail said SRO was coordinating with all relevant parties in order to avoid delay. “We are also holding joint meetings and workshops to speed up work and remove obstacles facing the project.”
Al-Hokail, who visited sites in Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah recently to inspect the progress of work, said the project is being carried out at a high standard and is supervised by consultants. “Higher authorities have instructed all departments to facilitate implementation of the project and deal with it as an exceptional case.”
Al-Hokail inspected the worksites to observe the removal of real estate from the railway path and the reconstruction of nearby bridges and flyovers to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
The SRO chief also held meetings with officials of the Al-Shoula consortium that implements the project, during which he was shown a presentation on the progress of work and obstacles facing them.
Al-Hokail also discussed matters related to the project’s second phase with Al-Shoula representatives and the changes that have taken place in railway tracks.
