State requests proposals for security fence
Requests for proposals have been issued to companies bidding to construct the 900-kilometre-long security fence along Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq.
The deadline for bids is 28 October. However, the SR 4,000 million ($1,070 million) project remains shrouded in secrecy, with the exact number of companies invited to bid still unclear.
The list is known to include local construction firms Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Oger, El-Seif Engineering Contracting, Al-Khodary Sons, and Al-Arab Contracting Company. Foreign bidders include the UK's BAE Systems, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, and the US' Boeing.
Significantly, no standalone defence business from France is known to be bidding, despite the country's longstanding interest in the project. The fence was originally conceived more than 10 years ago as a government-to-government project between Paris and Riyadh. It was initially led by the French defence group Thales.
In the past two years, progress on the project has slowed down. A series of options were proposed until Riyadh chose to open it to competitive tender, apparently seeking better value for money than the original deal with France (MEED 15:9:06).
'Everyone thought the French had it sewn up, but now we seem to be almost back to square one,' says one security source.
The fence itself will comprise two lines of razor wire and will include computer-controlled surveillance equipment, manned watchtowers and electronic gates. Riyadh is worried about the potential for insurgents from Iraq to enter the country. The border will also be defended by a 10-kilometre-wide exclusion zone packed with surveillance equipment (MEED 13:7:07).
Requests for proposals have been issued to companies bidding to construct the 900-kilometre-long security fence along Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq.
The deadline for bids is 28 October. However, the SR 4,000 million ($1,070 million) project remains shrouded in secrecy, with the exact number of companies invited to bid still unclear. The list is known to include local construction firms Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Oger, El-Seif Engineering Contracting, Al-Khodary Sons, and Al-Arab Contracting Company. Foreign bidders include the UK's BAE Systems, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, and the US' Boeing. Significantly, no standalone defence business from France is known to be bidding, despite the country's longstanding interest in the project. The fence was originally conceived more than 10 years ago as a government-to-government project between Paris and Riyadh. It was initially led by the French defence group Thales. In the past two years, progress on the project has slowed down. A series of options were proposed until Riyadh chose to open it to competitive tender, apparently seeking better value for money than the original deal with France (MEED 15:9:06). 'Everyone thought the French had it sewn up, but now we seem to be almost back to square one,' says one security source. The fence itself will comprise two lines of razor wire and will include computer-controlled surveillance equipment, manned watchtowers and electronic gates. Riyadh is worried about the potential for insurgents from Iraq to enter the country. The border will also be defended by a 10-kilometre-wide exclusion zone packed with surveillance equipment (MEED 13:7:07).This content is only available to full MEED package subscribers (MEED magazine and MEED.com).
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