Forty-three companies have expressed interest in the contract to develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) network using a public-private partnership (PPP) model in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom’s Al-Madina al-Munawarah Development Authority, through the National Centre for Privatisation and PPP (NCP), issued the EoI request for the contract in June.

The planned Medina BRT comprises three corridors with a total length of 64.6 kilometres (km) and an estimated capacity of 1,800 passengers an hour.

The first route will stretch 16.2km from Ohud to Quba Mosque and have 12 stops and two park-and-ride facilities.

The second and main route will be 38km long and start from Medina’s Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International airport, pass the Prophet's Mosque, and terminate at Miqat Mosque. It will have 24 stations and three park-and-ride bus stops.

The third corridor starts from the east terminus on Al-Qassim Road and runs to Prince Abdul Majeed Mosque. It is 10.4km long, with 10 stations and a park-and-ride facility.

Last year, Al-Madina al-Munawarah Development Authority appointed a team of US-based Deloitte, the US/Saudi HDR Middle East and the local Abdul Rahman Fahad al-Khaili as transaction advisers for the project.