SAUDI ARABIA: The Public Investment Fund has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff and Fluor Corp to provide project management consultancy services for the design and construction of the 950 km Landbridge railway planned to link Jeddah with Riyadh.
At Riyadh the line would connect with the existing 450 km line to Dammam on the Gulf coast, providing a port to port freight transit time of one day rather than four days by ship. The project also includes a 115 km line from Dammam to Jubail.
Under the eight-year contract announced on September 18, Parsons Brinkerhoff will support the development of 'complex elements' of the railway, including tunnels and bridges. The company said the project would require several civil and track contracts, at least one design and build civil and track contract in the vicinity of Jeddah, and a significant amount of tunnelling and earthworks.
Parsons Brinckerhoff undertook the original planning work for the Landbridge project in 1997 as part of the development of a railway programme for Saudi Arabia.
