JEDDAH, 18 May 2006 — Four consortia comprising Saudi and foreign companies have been qualified to present their offers to carry out the Kingdom’s prestigious landbridge project, which links the country’s east with its west by a railway line and brings about a total change in the region’s shipping patterns.

“The Supreme Economic Council (SEC), chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has approved the technical report regarding qualification of the four consortia which have shown their interest in the landbridge project,” the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) said in a statement.

The four are led by Saudi Binladen Group, Bouygues, Mada Industrial and Commercial Investment Company, and Public Warehousing Company (PWC), the SRO statement said. They include a large number of contractors and companies specialized in railway industry in addition to prominent Saudi investors.

The landbridge project involves construction of 950 km of new track between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-km line between Dammam and Jubail. It is the cornerstone of a massive multibillion riyal railway expansion program and will be the first rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf.

The SEC approved the technical report after it was studied and endorsed by a high-level committee to oversee the railway expansion project. The report was prepared by a team comprising experts from SRO, its consultants, UBS and National Commercial Bank, and the French railway company, SNCFI.

“The panel of experts reviewed the statements of qualification (SOQs) in accordance with the methods and standards that are followed internationally in dealing with such projects,” the SRO said. The high-level supervisory committee set up by SEC includes top officials from the ministries of transport, finance, petroleum and mineral resources, and municipal and rural affairs, as well as SRO, customs department, Saudi Seaports Authority and state-owned Public Investment Fund.

Transport Minister and Chairman of SRO Dr. Jabara Al-Seraisry said the SEC’s approval would speed up implementation of the landmark project. He emphasized the significance of the landbridge, saying it would strengthen the Kingdom’s position on the map of regional and international transport. He thanked King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan for their tremendous support for the railway expansion program.

Khaled Alyahya, president of SRO and chairman of the supervisory committee, said he was happy at the progress of the landbridge project. “I hope the four consortia will make strong financial and technical offers,” he said. The SEC’s approval reflected its confidence in the measures taken by the committee and SRO to carry out the project,” he added.

Nine consortia including international companies from the United States, Britain, India, Germany, Russia, France, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Italy and China had presented their SOQs in September last year. They included a number of Saudi and international companies specialized in construction, shipping, investments, logistics and railways.

The SEC approved implementation of the landbridge project with private sector participation about four years ago. The landbridge is designed for both passenger and cargo trains. It will boost the development of three main regions — Riyadh, Makkah and Eastern Province — that account for 70 percent of the Kingdom’s population and economic activities.

The Kingdom’s railway expansion program includes the Makkah-Madinah Rail Link (MMRL) that will provide a safe, fast, reliable and comfortable mode of transport for Umrah and Haj pilgrims traveling between the two holy cities and Jeddah. SRO will hold a project day in Jeddah on May 23 for potential investors interested in the project. “The Makkah-Madinah Rail Link will comprise the construction of approximately 500 kilometers of new high-speed electrified railway line, equipped with a modern signaling and telecommunications system,” the SRO said.