The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in October between Saudi Railway Company (SAR) and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) to implement the Saudi Landbridge project involves undertaking a financial feasibility for the $10bn rail scheme.

According to sources familiar with the project, the deal does not yet include the design, build and operation phases of the railway scheme.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said in October that the value of the railway project is $10.6bn. SPA did not specify the scope of the MoU reached between SAR and CCECC.

The October announcement came a few months after SAR officials told a conference in Dubai that the tender for the scheme, which was to be procured as a public-private partnership (PPP), was due to be issued in the last quarter of 2018.

The Saudi Landbridge will link Jeddah on the Red Sea with the capital Riyadh.

Italian engineering design firm Italferr and its local partner Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre (ACEC) completed the design for the Saudi Landbridge project in 2017.

In addition to the 960-kilometre line linking the Jeddah ports on the Red Sea with Riyadh, the design includes an option to extend the line from Jeddah to Dammam and Jubail.

The scope of the design undertaken by Italferr and ACEC includes:

• Identifying the corridor
• Designing the railway line, permanent way material and all the civil engineering structures, stations, installations for train loading/unloading and container handling operations
• Identifying the signalling (ERTMS level 2 system) and telecommunications systems
• Development of all activities relating to environmental impact
• Obtaining project approval

The Saudi Landbridge is one of four major railway projects that were to be implemented by the Public Transport Authority (PTA) as PPPs.

The other three include the electrification of the existing Riyadh-Dammam railway, the Yanbu-Jeddah link and Riyadh link.

Source: PTA