Timetable

What is the timetable for the competition?
Answer: We expect to invite Expressions of Interest from interested parties in the second half of 2005 and invite bids in early 2006.

When is the invitation document due out?
Answer: We expect the invitation document to be issued following the KSA's approval of the advisors' recommendations in the second half of 2005.


Commercial

How is the Makkah Madinah Rail Link ("MMRL") project to be implemented?
Answer: It is the decision of the KSA to offer the project on a BOT basis.

Which concession precedent do you expect to follow?
Answer: We have some preliminary ideas and we want to confirm our thoughts with financial and legal advisors over the coming months.

Will subsidies be available if necessary?
Answer: All options for successfully implementing the MMRL project will be fully considered.

Will there be a requirement to provide freight services?
Answer: We will assess the potential need for freight services on the MMRL, especially on the proposed Jeddah-Madinah-Yanbu section.

Do you have all the necessary land ownership, planning and development approvals?
Answer: Not at this time. We are still identifying potential route alignments but we will have all necessary permissions/approvals by the time they are required.

What revenue forecasts have been completed? Will they be refreshed before the invitation is issued? Will they have been validated?
Answer: A Ridership and a Willingness to Pay Survey is currently under way and is likely to be available to bidders in due course.

How long will the concession be?
Answer: Most concessions for infrastructure assets have tenure from 25 to 50 years. No firm decision on this matter has been taken.

What is the nature of revenue risk to be transferred?
Answer: New traffic forecast studies will be undertaken by our advisors, and we expect to take these types of decisions once we have the necessary information on relevant traffic flows.

Do you expect to grant separate concessions for different sections of the MMRL?
Answer: We will consider the desirability of granting separate concessions for the Jeddah-Makkah and Jeddah-Madinah sections.

What inter-relationship do you envisage between the Saudi Landbridge and the MMRL?
Answer: KSA will proceed with these two projects as two distinct concessions. However, it is foreseen that the two projects will share at least one common passenger station.

Have you considered how to address the seasonality of travel to Makkah and Madinah?
Answer: This question will be addressed following completion of the Ridership Study and the Willingness to Pay Survey.

Will there be any kind of guarantee about competing modes?
Answer: The main competing mode for the MMRL is the existing untolled road network. As this network has been built relatively recently it is in good condition, the SRO believes that bidders will have a good idea of the competitive landscape.


Legal

Will the concession for the Saudi Landbridge project be governed by Saudi Law?
Answer: The concession will be governed by Saudi Law.

Do you think it will be possible to raise limited recourse finance against the concession?
Answer: Limited recourse financing is common for projects in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

What are your thoughts on regulation?
Answer: The KSA is engaging the services of Legal Advisors who will present it with international best practice in this field.


Potential Bidders

What capabilities will be critical in your view to bidding groups?
Answer: We expect bidding groups to be led by companies providing their own proprietary technology and able to deliver a complete solution.

Who are you expecting to bid?
Answer: We expect bids from major players in the field of specialised mass passenger transit, possible in conjunction with equipment manufacturers and local and regional companies.

How many companies have already expressed interest?
Answer: We have received informal and unsolicited expressions of interest from a large number of national and international parties.

What will be the basis for bid evaluation?
Answer: The final evaluation criteria will be published in the tender invitation documents.