A French company yesterday won an SR8 million contract to undertake preliminary measures for the construction of an electric railway network in Riyadh. The French consulting firm Semaly and the Middle East engineering firm Dar Al-Handasah were granted the contract, which covers a fourteen-month period.
“Studies will assess the potential social, economic and environmental impact of the project on Riyadh,” said Vice-President of the Projects Centre at the Riyadh Development Authority Tareq Al-Faris in a press statement published today. The studies will also assess technical needs for locating suitable routes for railway installation in the city.
The Kingdom has embarked on a major plan to increase the use of railways between major cities. The multibillion-dollar expansion program includes a 950-kilometre loop from Riyadh to Jeddah, joining existing lines from the capital to Dammam.
This coast-to-coast line would cut transportation time for containers from Dammam to Riyadh to Jeddah Port, the Kingdom’s main sea outlet, by a week compared to transportation times for shipping.
A 115-kilometre railway line will also be built between Dammam city’s international airport and the industrial port of Jubail on the Arabian Gulf.
A 570-kilometre line between Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah, which extends north to the industrial city of Yanbu, is also planned to ease the journeys of millions of pilgrims who visit the holy cities for Hajj and Umrah.
Source: SPA
