Oman Tribune - 13 October, 2010India to foray into Saudi railway business
DUBAI India is planning to enter Saudi Arabia, starting with the operation of a major mineral railway that will link the country’s northern Jalamid region with Ras Azzour, near the industrial port city of Jubail, minister of state for railways E Ahamed has said.
Ahamed, who was speaking on the sidelines of a community reception in Riyadh, said that some projects were “being identified, while some are in the pipeline”.
The minister said that while it was too early to talk about the projects in which Indian Railways would be involved in, India’s state-owned Rites would be involved in the operation of the new 1,486-kilometre North-South railway.
“The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) and Rites signed a 278 million Saudi riyal agreement earlier,” he was quoted by Arab News as saying.
Rites will help operate the railway, which is used for the transportation of phosphate and bauxite to Ras Azzour near Jubail. Once operational, this railway link would make Saudi Arabia a leading supplier of phosphate and bauxite.
Passenger traffic on the route would start in 2013, with trains passing through Riyadh, Sudair, Qassim, Hail and Al Jouf, an earlier report had said.
Oman Tribune
