Three multi-billion dollar railway deals inked in Riyadh

RIYADH — Three landmark agreements worth billions of dollars for implementing mega railway projects have been signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative 2018 in Riyadh.

Minister of Transport Nabil Al-Amoudi, who is also chairman of the Board of the Public Transport Authority (PTA), signed the first agreement, worth $3.6 billion, with the Saudi- Spanish alliance, for implementing the second phase of Haramain High Speed Train Project. The alliance is operating the Haramain project for 12 years, which started commercial operation on Oct. 11.

Dr. Rumaih Al Rumaih, president of PTA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) representative Yuan Li for the implementation of the Land Bridge project. The project, to connect the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf ports via the railways between Dammam and Riyadh, is amounted to cost $10.6 billion.

The CEO of the Saudi Railway Company Dr. Bashar Al-Malik and President of the Green Bakery Corporation James Cowan signed an agreement, worth $267 million, for manufacturing freight cars in the Kingdom. — SG/SPA