Jeddah—Follow-up
An official source at the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) stated that a tender for the largest railway project connecting Riyadh to the eastern and western coasts for the transport of freight and passengers will be issued in the coming days. The Public Investment Fund awarded the consulting contract for the land bridge project connecting the capital, Riyadh, to Jeddah to Fluor Corporation to review the engineering designs and develop implementation strategies, in addition to monitoring construction contractors and overseeing the initial operation of the line upon its completion, under a contract valued at 270 million riyals, to be carried out over 84 months and covering supervision of the engineering design phases, construction contracts, and the initial operation period.
The source noted, according to a newspaper report, that the awarding of the land bridge project management consultancy contract came within the framework of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, regarding the need to expedite the completion of railway infrastructure projects in the Kingdom, following the approval of a railway line connecting the western part of the Kingdom on the Red Sea coast to the eastern part on the Arabian Gulf coast, with infrastructure funding provided by the Public Investment Fund.
The project is considered massive, as it will be a double-track line approximately 958 kilometers long, passing through regions with varying geographical features, which requires the use of multiple technologies for the construction of the railroad. The project is one of the most important in the Kingdom’s transportation sector, given its critical role in connecting the eastern and western parts of the Kingdom, providing extensive passenger and freight transportation services, and enabling the Kingdom to leverage its strategic location in the Middle East and maximize commercial benefits from its ports on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, thereby supporting the national economy. Through this project, the Kingdom will serve as a link between goods coming from Europe and the Americas and various markets in the Arab Gulf states, as well as goods and products from East Asian countries and various markets in the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The project will play an active role in reducing transit times to between two and three days, compared to full maritime transport via the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Arabian Gulf.