Saudi Railway Company (SAR) is seeking to prequalify firms specialising in signalling and telecoms for the under-construction segments of the Mineral Railway project.

The contract is being sought for the rail line that extends from Jubail to Ras al-Khair, the internal rail network in Jubail and the Jubail to Dammam line.

Submissions are expected by 24 March.

This section of the SR20bn (5.3bn), 2,750-kilometre North-South Railway scheme is being built along the same alignment as the Saudi spur of the planned GCC Railway, although it has not been explicitly indicated if it will actually form part of the regional scheme.

The North-South railway is envisaged to link bauxite and phosphate mines in the far northwest of the kingdom with the new industrial complex at Ras al-Khair. The principal aim of the railway was to help create fully integrated fertiliser and aluminium industries, where the downstream coastal production facilities are directly linked with their ore feedstock.

The first contract awarded for the Mineral Railway segment was for the 85km link between Jubail and Ras al-Khair, which was won by Saudi Binladin Group in mid-2012. The line will link up to Jubail Port.