The Mecca Municipality is evaluating bids from consultants for project management office consultancy (PMOC) contract for the proposed Mecca public transport programme in Saudi Arabia.

Bids were submitted in early March for the SR60bn ($16.5bn) transport programme. At the heart of the masterplan is the planned Mecca mass rail transit (MMRT) project, which includes the construction of four rail lines, 88 stations and more than 180km of track.

Consultants are expecting to see a decision made within the next month, with one source saying that the client wants to move quickly on this project.

The rail project was originally planned to be developed on a public-private partnership basis (PPP), but at the end of last year, it was decided to drop such plans.

Al-Balad al-Ameen, the development arm of Mecca Municipality, then invited consultants to help develop the MMRT at the beginning of the year.

In August last year, the Saudi government approved full public funding of the broader Mecca public transport programme (MPTP) including both the MMRT and a new bus network, ending several months of speculation that the project was to be funded directly from the state purse.

Under the current plans for the Mecca rail project, the proposed first line will run from Al-Laith road to Al-Sail road, passing north of Al-Haram. The second line will run from Al-Jamarat station to the Mecca-Jeddah Expressway, passing north of Al-Haram.

The third line will go from Al-Medina Road to Umm al-Quar University, passing West and South of Al-Haram. The fourth line will go from Jeddah to Mecca Road to Ibrahim Khaleel Road, which will past west of Al-Haram.