| The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been exploring
for several years the possibility of upgrading
the country's existing rail network. The key
milestones in the development of the Saudi
Railway Expansion Project to date are as follows: |
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January 2005:
SRO Project Day held in London to facilitate formation of consortia. |
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April 2004:
Linklaters appointed to provide Legal Advisory Services
for the Saudi Railway Expansion Project.
|
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December 2003:
UBS and NCB were appointed by the Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia to provide Financial Advisory Services for the
Saudi Railway Expansion Project. |
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November 2003:
Request for Proposals for providing Legal Advisory Services for the Saudi Railway Expansion Project
was issued to short-listed parties by SRO. |
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February 2003:
A final Request for Proposals for providing Financial & Technical Advisory Services
for the Saudi Railway Expansion Project was issued to short-listed parties by SRO. |
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September
2002:
Invitations for Expressions of Interest for providing Financial & Technical Advisory Services for the Saudi Railway Expansion Project were issued by SRO. A preliminary Request for Proposals for providing Financial & Technical Advisory Services was issued to short-listed bidders in December 2002. |
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September
2002:
The Saudi Council of Ministers announced a decision to privatise twenty sectors, including railways.
|
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June 2002:
Approval was given by the Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia to implement the Saudi Landbridge and the Makkah Madinah Rail Link through the private sector on a BOT basis. Saudi Railways Organization ("SRO") was appointed as the "Executing Agency" for the two projects.
|
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1998-2000:
At the request of an Inter-ministerial Committee for railway network development, the World Bank undertook a study to confirm and/or to recalibrate the conclusions of the earlier studies and to confirm the viability of the core railway expansion program within the KSA with private sector participation.
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1997:
SIB Financial Advisory Services, a subsidiary of a leading investment bank, submitted to the KSA a second study of possible railway expansion in Saudi Arabia. The study was intended to test and confirm independently the assumptions and conclusions of the Parsons Brinckerhoff report.
|
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1996-1997:
Parsons Brinckerhoff, a leading international planning, engineering, and program and construction management organization, submitted to the KSA a technical study, in two phases, assessing the merits of a set of railway links in Saudi Arabia which, in various combinations, defined a comprehensive national railway network. |
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