The Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company (MMRT) has begun the award procedure for the bus infrastructure component of the Mecca Public Transport Programme (MPTP).

This follows the approval of the budget for the project in February.

It is understood that the bus package could include the design and construction of bus-related infrastructure and pedestrian bridges as well as the multi-year operation and maintenance (O&M) of the bus network.

The package is one of five under the MPTP that were due for award in 2016. The other four packages include two civil works packages and two other contracts for the systems and rolling stock for the first phase (Lines B and C) of the Mecca Metro.

Rumaih al-Rumaih, president of the kingdom’s Public Transport Authority, said earlier this month that the Mecca Metro and other planned urban rail projects in Jeddah, Medina and Dammam, as well as the Saudi Landbridge, will now be procured on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

The original plan was for the state to finance these projects similar to the under-construction Riyadh Metro. Persistent lower-oil prices since the second half of 2014 has triggered a major review of all major projects in the kingdom, including those in the rail sector.

The preferred bidders for the four packages of the Mecca Metro were identified in late 2015 but the formal award has been delayed. The bidders declined to comment on the status of the awards or negotiations with the MMRT or if a new procurement process will be initiated due to the change in the financing model.

The city of Mecca currently does not have a public transport network, although it is home to the only operational urban light rail in the kingdom, the 18km Al-Mashaer monorail – often referred to as the pilgrim metro – which connects Saudi Arabia’s holy sites. The metro operates only seven days a year.

In 2014, Mecca received 12 million hajj and umrah pilgrims and this number. Despite a 5 per cent decline in the number of hajj visitors last year, the city expects the total number of pilgrims annually to more than double by 2030.

It is understood that the road infrastructure either available today or under construction is not able to meet current and future traffic demand.