12/04/2009
Finance Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Public Development Fund, Ibrahim Al-Assaf, yesterday announced plans to establish a new railway system (North – South Railway) which will be launched by the end of 2010.
It was agreed that the railway will transport minerals from the north of the Kingdom all the way to the south, connecting the Jalameed Belt with Ras Al-Zour which lies north of the eastern city of Jubail, passing thru Al-Jouf and Hail stretching a distance of 2,400 kilometers.
GCC memberstates are anticipating the beginning of this project and Gulf leaders have given preliminary approval for the project. However, Al-Assaf said that costs and other details were still being investigated.
This came yesterday after Al-Assaf signed 3 contracts worth SR2.39 billion to build signaling, ticketing, communications and security systems and to provide locomotives and railcars.
Al-Assaf also mentioned during the press conference that the launch of the railway in 2010 would coincide with the completion of projects for the transportation of mineralsphosphate and bauxite in the north of the Kingdom.
Pertaining to compensation for the land that will be used in the project, Al-Assaf made it clear that there is a committee that will settle payment in accordance with plans for the completion of the project indicating the strong commitment to have a train system in the Kingdom.
French defense group Thales and construction giant Saudi Binladin Group were awarded a SR1.7 billion contract to build European style signaling, ticketing, communications and security systems to be completed within 5 years. There will be ticketing, travel information and internet in each train station.
With the keen interest of the Treasury to secure the participation of Saudi companies and the transfer of technology to the Kingdom, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the contracted companies and the Saudi Advanced Electronics Company that assured the inclusion of Saudi engineers and specialists in the manufacture of some parts.
The US firm ElectroMotive won a contract valued at SR337.79 million in exchange for supplying 25 locomotives, each with 4300 horsepower.Each locomotive is for a 3-km-long 160-wagon loaded train of 16,000 tons .China’s South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corporation (CSR) won a SR342,299,074 (about$91.3 million) contract to manufacture and design 668 wagons. Of these, 524 wagons will be used for phosphate transfer, with each wagon carrying 100 tons.
The Treasury Department has previously agreed to start a number of primary phase projects specifically related to land development of 500 million square meters as well as the construction of several bridges, roads and walkways. It also approved the manufacture of more than 4 million concrete dividers and the connection of 280 thousand tons of iron rail. This development is part of the Strategic Development Program which aims to strenghten transportation and mining in mineral rich areas of the Kingdom in accordance with the resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers in 1424H which commisioned the Treasury to begin this project with the aim of transporting phosphite and bauxite in the far north to planned Gulf coast processing and export facilities at Ras Al-Zour on the Arabian Gulf.
In other news this morning, before signing the 3 railway contracts, Al-Assaf sent members of the Financial Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee to meet with visiting U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota. They discussed strenghtening trade relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia and strengthening trade and investment relations between the Kingdom and Minnesota. Participating in the discussion was Hamad Al-Baazi'ee, the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Anthony E. Loroso, the Executive Manager of the Department of Export Promotion for the Mnnesota Office of Trade Edward Burton, the President and Managing Director of the Saudi American Trade Commission, and Suzan Lindman, Vice President of the Saudi American Trade Commission. Ellison is now leading a delegation from the state of Minnesota visiting the Kingdom on a tour pre-arranged by the Saudi American Trade Commission.
