JEDDAH, 17 September — Khaled Al-Yahya, chairman of the Saudi Railway Organization, disclosed yesterday that the new railway expansion project, which is expected to cost about SR4 billion, has been presented to the Supreme Economic Council (SEC) for approval.
“Feasibility studies on the project have been completed and are now being reviewed by the SEC,” the chairman told Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper.
The new project aims at linking the Kingdom’s eastern, western and northern regions with railway lines.
He said the privatization committee has already given its approval to go ahead with the project by the private sector. Communications Minister Nasir Al-Salloum has called upon Saudi businessmen to invest in the project.
“What is required now is an executive plan to implement the project,” Yahya said.
He especially underlined the prospects of operating fast passenger trains between Riyadh and Jeddah.
Yahya said the railway organization is on top of the list of government agencies proposed for privatization. “The SRO will be privatized as part of the expansion project as new investors will make use of its facilities,” he said.
Referring to the common notion that Saudis will rarely use trains for travel, the chairman said the railway “is not the last means of transport in the regions where it operates.”
“We handle 85 to 90 percent of containers that come from the Dammam port to Riyadh, and we have more passengers than Saudi Arabian Airlines,” he added.
