A consortium of Italy’s Italferr, Sener, Spain, and Hill International have been confirmed as the preferred bidders for a project management services contract for the Saudi Landbridge project, IRJ understands.

Bids for the contract were received by Saudi Railway Company (SAR) in October 2022 and the consortium has overcome rival proposals from Systra and a consortium of Parsons and Egis.

With the project management contract now confirmed, local media reports suggest that SAR is preparing to start work on the public-private partnership (PPP) project, which includes constructing a new 950km railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, early next year as negotiations over the final cost and financing structure for the $US 7bn scheme near a conclusion.

The Saudi China Landbridge Consortium (SLCC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to implement the project under a PPP in October 2018. SLCC was formed by SAR and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) with Al-Ayuni named as a local partner. The other members are: Systra, Thales, WSP, Aldhabaan & Partners, the local partner of British law firm Eversheds & Sutherland, ALG Infrastructure, and Calx Consultancy.

Italferr and local partner Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre (ACEC) completed the design of the project in 2017. Freight trains will operate at up to 160km/h on the new line and passenger trains at up to 250km/h.

The project

The project itself involves a mixture of upgrades and new line construction and is expected to take seven years to complete. It is split into six sections.

The first section comprises the upgrade of the Jubail Industrial City internal network, which is currently under construction, and will require the construction of 10km of new track.

The second is the upgrade of the existing Jubail - Dammam line, which is also currently under construction and will require 35km of new track construction.

The third section will involve an upgrade of the Dammam - Riyadh line, which includes the construction of 87km of new track.

The fourth section, the Riyadh bypass, will connect the existing network in the north of the city to the south. It is split into two packages: the first has 67km of track and the second has 35km.

The fifth section is a new 950km link from Riyadh to Jeddah, which will continue for 146km to King Abdullah Port. The Riyadh - Jeddah section will have three intermediate stations at Jamuma, Moya and Al-Doadmi.

The sixth section is the new 172km line from King Abdullah Port to Yanbu Industrial City. The project will also include the construction of seven logistics centres at Jubail Industrial City Logistics Centre, Damman Logistics Dry Port, a relocated Riyadh Dry Port, King Khalid Airport Logistics Centre in Riyadh, Jeddah Logistics Dry Port, King Abdullah Port Logistics Centre and Yanbu Industrial City Logistics Centre. 

Plans to develop the Saudi Landbridge project were originally announced in 2004 and were revived in 2011, with progress relatively slow since then. Nevertheless, it is one of Saudi Arabia’s most anticipated infrastructure projects, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud confirming the government’s commitment to the scheme in June 2021, when he launched the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.

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