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TRANSPORTATIONRoad transportRoad transport in KSA is Government-owned and largely driven by the growing population andintercity passenger/cargo movement. Huge investments in various projects and rapid growth oflarge cities have underlined the need for a more improved road transport system. Developmentof road infrastructure is required to ease connectivity and help in transporting huge volumes ofmaterials to the construction sites of these projects. To improve the road transportinfrastructure, the Government invested over SR7.5bn on projects for asphalted roads in 2007.In the 2009 budget, the Government has allocated SR11.5bn for road construction projects,which would help in expanding the capacity of transportation sector.Rail transportExpanding population base andrising religious tourism offerssignificant opportunities forroad and rail transport in KSARail transport in KSA is managed by Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) and comprises twomain lines — Dammam-Abqaiq-Hofuf-Riyadh (499.1km) used by passengers and Riyadh-Hardd-Hofuf (555.9km) used by freight trains. Annually, the railway sector handles around850,000 passengers and 850mn tons of cargo. The Kingdom is upgrading its rail network asdemand is expected to increase, particularly from Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. Exhibit 71 depictssignificant new projects approved by SRO.Exhibit 149: Projects approved by SROLength (km)Qualified consortiumsLandbridge project • •• Construction of 950 kmnew track betweenRiyadh and Jeddah• Construction of 115 kmnew line betweenDammam and Jubail• The project is expectedto connect major cities,such as Jeddah,Riyadh, Dammam andJubail• Agility LogisticsConsortium• AlMuhaidib/ ACWAConsortium• Mada Consortium• Saudi BinladinConsortiumMakkah-Madinah Rail Link Project (MMRL)• Construction of 450 kmnew rail line betweenMakkah and Madinah• Construction of twopassenger stations inMakkah• Construction of onestation in Madinah• Estimated cost ofUSD5.3 bn• Al-Rajhi Consortium• The Saudi BinladinGroup• The Saudi Oger• The Saudi JapaneseConsortium• Al-SholahConsortium• OHL InternationalSource: Saudi Railways Organization (SRO)Completion of the Landbridge project is expected to strengthen the Kingdom’s position on boththe regional and international transport maps. However, work on the USD5bn Landbridgeproject has still not started because the Governments of the GCC states could not agree onwhether to have one central or body six national regulatory bodies for regulating the project.Another important milestone in rail transport is the approval of tenders for the Makkah-MadinahRail Link Project (MMRL) to offer transportation solutions predominantly to Hajj and UmrahJUNE 2009SAUDI ARABIA FACTBOOK94