Landbridge on track.

(From Gulf Construction)

The estimated $2 to 3 billion Saudi Landbridge now looks likely to steam ahead, gauging from the level of interest the project evinced at a recent investors meet

With the Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) having invited applications for pre-qualification from contractors to take part in the Saudi Landbridge tender process last month, the kingdom's ambitious plan of linking the major cities along its breadth has crossed a significant landmark. These will link the kingdom's principal ports on the east and west coasts with its industrial nerve centres

The pre-qualification will be closely followed by invitations to tender in the third quarter of this year and bids are due back in the first quarter of 2006. It is expected that the SRO will select a preferred bidder for final negotiations by mid-2006 and award the concession in the third quarter of next year

The project received a shot-in-the-arm when it attracted a huge participation from the various national and international financial institutions, rail companies, manufacturers, and contractors at a Project Day in London - organised to introduce the Saudi Landbridge project to the international community of investors and contractors at the end of January

"The government is strongly committed to this project, which will bring to fruition the vision of a visionary leader. This is your opportunity to participate in an historic dream," said Saudi Arabia's Minister of Transport Dr Jobarah Al-Suraisry while inviting potential partners to take a stake in the nascent Saudi Landbridge rail link

A dream of the founding father of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz - the rail link will create a new dimension in land transport across the Saudi Arabian peninsula, transforming the existing rail network into a world-class freight and passenger rail system. The Landbridge - the first ever rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf - will be one of the largest BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects ever undertaken in the Middle East and is expected to have a profound impact on shipping patterns in the region. "It is a key initiative in the Railway Expansion Programme approved by the kingdom's Supreme Economic Council", says Suraisry