CRCC eyes more infrastructure projects with ties expansion

RIYADH: China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd., Saudi branch, employees are excited about Chinese President XI Jinping’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.

Jinping’s landmark visit is expected to give a big boost to the bilateral cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia in many fields, including political, economic and defense, enabling China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. (CRCC) to play a crucial role in the local market to demonstrate its capability.
China Railway Construction Corporation Limited Saudi Branch is CRCC’s wholly-owned subsidiary registered in Saudi Arabia, representing CRCC to operate all projects in the Middle East.
The CRCC, one of the world’s most powerful and largest integrated construction groups which ranks 80th among the Fortune Global 500 and 11th among China’s Top 500 Enterprises, as well as second among ENR’s Top 250 Global Contractors in 2014, is the largest engineering contractor in China.
The business of CRCC covers project contracting, survey design consultation, industrial manufacturing, real estate development, logistics, trade of goods and materials as well as capital operations.
The CRCC has developed mainly from construction contract into a complete and comprehensive industrial chain of scientific research, planning, survey, design, construction, supervision, maintenance and operation, etc.
The comprehensive industrial chain enables the CRCC to provide clients one-stop integrated services. Now, it has established its leadership position in project design and construction fields in plateau railways, high-speed railways, highways, bridges, tunnels and urban rail traffic.
Over the years, the company has inherited the fine traditions and work style of the railway corps: carrying out administrative decrees promptly, courageous in innovation and indomitable.
There is a kind of preeminent culture in CRCC with “sincerity and innovation forever, quality and character at once” as its core values so that the enterprise has strong cohesion, execution and combat effectiveness.
Under the leadership of Chairman and Party Secretary Meng Fengchao, CRCC is striding forward toward the goal of becoming “China’s construction industry leader, the world’s most competitive large construction group.”
So far, China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. Saudi Branch has won six major projects in the Kingdom with a total contract value of around $ 5 billion. Among them, the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro Project (MMMP), Southern Line project has been successfully completed, while the remaining five projects are under construction.
MMMP, Southern Line project, was signed between CRCC and the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in the presence of top leaders of China and Saudi Arabia. It is the largest and the most complex railway project of its kind in terms of transportation. It has the largest designed operation capacity, the most complex operating model, the shortest train tracking intervals, the highest degree of system integration in the world.
Through 16 months of painstaking efforts involving over 10,000 CRCC workers, the project was put into operation in November 2010, became fully operational during the Haj in 2011, proving beyond doubt that CRCC is a trustworthy international enterprise.
MMMP has played a crucial role in easing the traffic pressure for millions of pilgrims during the Haj season. The project, which covers a length of 18.25 km across nine stations and one rolling stock depot, was implemented at a total cost of $ 1.773 billion in Makkah that crosses three key Haj areas — Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat.
Since the client expanded the construction quantities of the project and refused to extend the construction period, the actual cost of the project was highly increased, the increased cost is still borne by CRCC today.
MMMP is the first intergovernmental cooperation project after the agreement on Cementing Infrastructural Construction Cooperation signed between China and Saudi Arabia in June 2008. It is the first oversea EPC+OM (engineering, procurement, construction + operation and maintenance) contract undertaken by the Chinese company.
With the capacity of 72,000 passengers per hour per direction, trains are operated under five models. Pilgrims from all over the world can make a round trip in Haj areas by taking Chinese trains. It effectively eases Makkah’s vehicular traffic pressure during the annual pilgrimage.
The project won the FIDIC Centenary Award of Merit in FIDIC Centenary Awards (2012-2013) which was hosted by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).
The CRCC successfully completed Haj operations for five years, from 2010 to 2014, and transported more than 16 million pilgrims. With the great support from the royal family, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Haj, the Ministry of Health, Civil Defense, Police, Red Crescent, local government authorities and all Saudis, CRCC achieved the target of zero accident in carrying pilgrims during these five years of operation.
With the completion of the final inspection and delivery of Al Mashaer Mugaddassah Metro Project, CRCC has accomplished the mission of construction and management.
The CRCC, Saudi branch, now is implementing five projects in Saudi Arabia, including Riviera-1 Compound Alkhobar, development of the Ministry of Interior’s Security Headquarters (phase five), renovation of (78.4 km) of railway line No. 2 between Dammam and Riyadh, expansion of Dhahran Residential Community — residential villas-240 (Package No. 4), and renewal of 91 km of mainline No. 2 between Dammam and Riyadh, with the contracts totaling $ 3 billion.
With the expansion of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, CRCC will have more opportunities to get involved in various infrastructure projects here. CRCC desires to contribute to the Kingdom’s prosperity, enhance bilateral economic cooperation and friendship, build a bridge for the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road to realize the China dream and the global dream.