Railway projects worth more than SR4 billion (just over US$1 billion) will be open to private sector investors, according to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Transport, Jubara bin Id Al-Suraysri. According to a report published Monday by the Saudi Gazette, the Saudi Council of Chambers invited Saudi businessmen early this year to invest in the railway sector.
Al-Suraysri noted that the Supreme Economic Council made several decisions in this regard, including expansion of the railway network from Jubail and Dammam to Jeddah, Mecca, Madinah and Yanbu via Riyadh.
This railway line is to be more than 1,065km long with 950km reaching Jeddah and Riyadh to be attached to the present network in Riyadh before building a 115km long railway line between Dammam and industrial Jubail. Once completed, this land bridge will contribute to a flow of goods to the local markets and to the markets of the Arabian Gulf through Jeddah Islamic port and the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam.
