JEDDAH, 22 September 2005 -- Transport Minister Dr. Jabara Al-Seraisry said the landbridge project linking the Kingdom's east with west was progressing well, adding that nine international consortia have expressed their readiness to participate in the SR10 billion project.
"Nine major foreign investors specialized in railways along with Saudi businessmen have presented their statements of qualification (SOQs). We are now studying their offers," the minister said.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting new road projects in the northern city of Rafha, Seraisry said Saudi Railway Organization had identified most part of the route of the 950km Riyadh-Jeddah railway line.
"Only a small portion of the route inside Jeddah is remaining to be identified. We have set up a committee of SRO and Jeddah Municipality officials to evaluate properties on the route in order to appropriate them for the project," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying.
International companies from the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia, India, China, Italy and South Korea have shown interest in the project, which is to change the region's shipping pattern.
"The high-level of interest received to date reflects the attractiveness of the landbridge project and its potential for supporting the further development of Saudi Arabia and the whole Middle East region," an SRO statement said.
SRO President Khaled Alyahya has emphasized his organization's plan to carry out the project next year. "International financial experts will shortlist qualified companies after studying their offers within two months," he said, adding that the contract would be awarded to qualified consortia by mid-2006.
Alyahya said the project, which is aimed at linking King Fahd Port in Jubail, King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam, the Dry Port in Riyadh and the Jeddah Islamic Port with a state-of-the-art railway network, would be completed within three years.
He estimated the cost of the project at less than SR10 billion.
Exact figure of the cost was not yet available as it would be calculated based on the project's specifications.
The landbridge project involves construction of 950 km of new tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-km line between Dammam and Jubail. SRO intends to build another railway line linking Jeddah with Makkah, Madinah and Yanbu.
Al-Seraisry also said that the current budget of the Transport Ministry was the largest in history. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has allocated SR10 billion from budget surplus for road projects.
He said work on the coastal road project, which begins from the border of Jordan on the north to the border of Yemen in the south, was also progressing well.
He said the project to expand the international road linking the Kingdom with neighboring countries would be completed within a year. "We have included more than 260 road projects in the current budget," he pointed out.
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2005
