THE contract for the final phase of Saudi Arabia’s SR6.8 billion ($1.8 billion) high-speed Haramain Railway project will be awarded before the end of the year.

The 450-km electrified, passenger double-line railway will be capable of running trains at speeds of up to 360 kmph and will shorten the trip between holy cities of Makkah and Madinah through the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and the King Abdullah Economic City considerably.

The committee supervising the project began reviewing tender submissions for the second and final phase of the project, which will see the construction of tracks, signals, communications infrastructure and the operational control centre. It also includes the procurement and maintenance of trains and maintenance of infrastructure for 12 years. This tender forms part of Phase One, Package Two.

The five shortlisted bidders were Saudi Binladin consortium (German), Al Rajhi consortium (French), Al Shoula consortium (Spanish), Badr consortium (Korean), and CSR consortium (Chinese).

The Transport Ministry will study the financial and technical offers made by companies vying to win the contract before the end of this year to announce the winner.

The first phase of the project, the civil works contract, was awarded to the Saudi-French-Chinese consortium of the Al-Rajhi construction group, France’s Alstom and China Railway Engineering in January 2009.

Tenders for the construction of stations along the 450-km line have been viewed and the winners will be announced shortly. Fosters and Partners and Buro Happold has designed the stations. Consortia fronted by Al Safwah, Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Oger, Kier Construction, Al Arrab Alliance, Azmeel Alliance, Nesma & Partners Contracting Company and Al Mabani General Contractors are believed to be in the running for the projects.