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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Railway Expansion

Ramiz Al-Assar, Sr. Transport Engineer

World Bank, Washington, DC

Transport Forum

March 10, 2005

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Topics

The Country

The Transport Sector

The Role of the World Bank- Resident Mission

The Railway Expansion– The North-South Railway Project (NSR)– The East West Railway Project (Land Bridge)

The Role of the Private sector

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The Country- Saudi ArabiaRiyadh is the Capital City (13-Administrative Regions).

GDP: 211 Billion US$ (2003)

Area: 2.25 m Sq. m.

Population: 24 m (2.9% annual Growth):– 75% Saudis– 40% below 14-years of age– 65% in 3-main areas (Riyadh, Makkah, Eastern Province)

Labor force: 7.4 m:– 6.5 million in Private Sector – 50% Saudis– 30% in transport, construction, and industry sectors.

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The Country-Saudi Arabia

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Yemen

Oman

United Arab EmiratesQatar

Bahrain

IranIraq

Jordan

Egypt

Sudan

EthiopiaSomalia

Djbouti

Eritrea

SyriaLebanon

Red Sea

Gulf

Gulf of Aden

Arabian Sea

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The Transport Sector

4.5% of Public Expenditures (67 billion US$-2003) spent on Transport/Infrastructure

Roads: 150,000 Km (50,000 km paved).

Railways: 1000 km (550 km for freight; 450 km for passengers).

Ports: 8- commercial/industrial (handling 105 m tons/year.

Airports: 25 of which 3 International (handling 30 m passengers/year).

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The Role of the World Bank Resident Mission

1975 Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation.Well Established office in Riyadh.Provides TA in Infrastructure, Education, ICT, PSD, Environment, Policy Reform, etc.Close coordination/cooperation with the WB HQ.Government appreciation of WB continued support.Ongoing discussion to move to a Programmatic TA.

Railway ExpansionNorth-South Railway (NSR)

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The Railway Expansion Program

East-West Railway(Saudi Landbridge)Western RailwayNorth-South RailwayExisting network

Railway Expansion Program will add 3,200 km of track to the existing network …

… connecting all major cities in the Kingdom

Haradh

Hofuf

Dammam

Hazm Al-Jalamid

Hail

Buraideh

Jeddah

Madinah

Makkah

RiyadhYanbu

JubailZabirahRas Azur

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North-South Railway Project (NSR)Royal Decree (in 2003) mandating the development of the NSR Project.

Part of a Railway Expansion Program.

Connects:– Mines at Al-Jalamid (Phosphate) & Zabirah (Bauxite)

to facilities in Ras Azur.

– Passenger & general freight line from Qurayyat through urban centers to Riyadh.

2,200 km in Length and cost about 2.8 billion US$.

1435 mm gauge single line with passenger speed of 160 km/h.

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North-South Railway Project (NSR)

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North-South Railway Project (NSR)

Public Investment Fund (Ministry of Finance) is the implementing authority.

Detailed Engineering Design to be completed March 2006.

Award of Implementation Supervisions Consultancy expected 4th Q 2005.

Tendering for Construction expected 1st Q 2006.

Completion of Construction expected 3rd Q 2009.

Railway ExpansionEast-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

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East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

♦ 57 locomotives♦ 75 passenger coaches♦ 2,200 freight wagons♦ 300 million passenger-km/year♦ 1.0 billion ton-km of cargo/year

Saudi Arabia is comparable to Western Europe in size and is among the 25 largest economies in the world …

yet, rail network is relatively modest…

RiyadhHaradh

Hofuf

Dammam

2nd Track : 449 km built in the 1980s and used by passenger trains

1st Track : 556 km built in the 1950s and now used only for freight service.

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♦ 950 km of new line between Riyadh and Jeddah

♦ 115 km of new line between Dammam and Jubail

The Saudi Landbridge will connect Jeddah to Dammam and Dammam to Jubail…

… linking the Red Sea to the Gulf

East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

Jeddah

Riyadh

Haradh

HofufDammam

Jubail

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East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

Supreme Economic Council approved private sector participation in the implementation of the project on a (BOT) basis.

Inter-ministerial Steering Committee to supervise implementation, chaired by the president of SRO.

Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) as Executing Agency for the project

Traffic Type:– Primarily a container/freight line.

– Domestic container traffic makes up the bulk of SL traffic.

– Container transshipment to other Gulf countries

– Passenger service will also be provided between Jeddah and Dammam

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City and port

connections

JeddahMajor transshipment hub on the Red Sea

DammamAllows further shipment to Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain

RiyadhLargest city and consumption centre in the Arabian peninsula (population over 5 million)

JubailSaudi Arabia’s main industrial city

East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

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Landbridge Dynamics – Before

Jeddah

Riyadh

Dammam

UAE

To Far East

Kuwait

To Far East

To Europe & N. America

Sudan

Ethiopia

Oman

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Landbridge Dynamics – After

Jeddah

Riyadh

Dammam

UAE

To Far East

Kuwait

To Far East

To Europe & N. America

TrucksTrains

Sudan

Oman

Ethiopia

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Landbridge Dynamics – After…cont.

Jeddah

Riyadh

Dammam

To Far East

Kuwait

To Far East

To Europe & N. America

Trains

Ethiopia

UAEOman

Containers in both directions

Serving the Gulf

Dammam: Saudi Arabia’s Gateway to the Far East

Less traffic around the peninsula

Sudan

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Completed Technical and Financial analysis.

Structuring the project to attract private investment on a BOT basis.

Suggesting regulatory framework & concession structure to allow private sector participation.

Preparing tender documents.

Managing the award process of the BOT Concession.

East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

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East-West Railway Project (Landbridge)

Initiate investor pre-qualification process (1st Quarter 2005)Issue tender documents to pre-qualified consortia (3rd Quarter 2005)Receive and evaluate bids (1st Quarter 2006)Negotiate with preferred bidder(s) (2nd Quarter 2006)Award concession(3rd Quarter 2006)

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Role of the Public-Private Sector

NSR Project– Public Sector to finance construction cost, rolling

stock and provide the land.

– Private Sector to construct and operate & maintain railway.

Landbridge Project– Public Sector to provide the land and in kind

contributions.

– Public Sector to set policy and establish regulations and Regulatory Authority.

– Private Sector Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT).