Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) project director Shahid Khan told the MEED MENA Rail 2011 conference in Abu Dhabi on 20 September that dykes built about 25 metres on either side of the track significantly reduced the amount of sand drifting on the section of the North-South railway that it has built.

SBG is completing its CTW 100 contract on the railway, which connects Al-Zubaira in central Arabia with Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf. The job involved building 550 kilometres of line. A total of 15 bridges and 11 camel crossing were completed as part of the project, Khan said.

“We decided to use spoil to build a dyke parallel to parts of the railway line,” Khan said. He said that this is now to be extended the full length of the CTW 100 section of the north-south railway.

SBG had more than 2,000 people working on the CTW 100 contract at its peak. There are now about 1,200 employees deployed and this will soon be reduced to 300, Khan said. Providing accommodation for its employees was one of the major challenges, Khan said. SBG built one major camp and 11 sub-camps for its workers.