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Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has asked contractors to prequalify by mid-September for a contract that includes the construction of a new railway line, called the Riyadh rail link, which will run from the north of Riyadh to the south.

The scope of the contract encompasses the construction of a 35-kilometre-long double-track rail line, connecting SAR's North-South railway network with the Eastern Railway network.

The contract also includes the procurement, construction and installation of associated infrastructure, including viaduct construction, civil works, utility installations, signalling systems and other associated works.

The project is expected to become a key component of the Saudi Landbridge railway.

The Saudi Landbridge is an estimated $7bn project comprising more than 1,500km of new track. Its core component is a 900km new railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will provide direct freight access to the capital from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

Other key sections include upgrades to the existing Riyadh-Dammam line and a link between King Abdullah Port and Yanbu.

The start of the tendering activity for the Riyadh rail link project makes the construction of the Saudi Landbridge project even more likely. 

The project is one of the kingdom’s most anticipated infrastructure programmes. Plans to develop it were first announced in 2004, but the project was put on hold in 2010 before being revived a year later.

Key stumbling blocks were rights-of-way issues, route alignment and its high cost.

In December 2023, MEED reported that a team of US-based Hill International, Italy’s Italferr and Spain’s Sener had been awarded the contract to provide project management services for the programme.

If it proceeds, the Landbridge will be one of the largest railway projects ever undertaken in the Middle East – and among the biggest globally.