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Neom continues rail discussions

28 February 2023

Saudi Arabia's Neom is understood to be continuing discussions with companies that have expressed an interest to bid for rail scheme packages catering to the $500bn development in northwest Saudi Arabia.

"I think they are speaking with each of the companies that have earlier submitted an expression of interest to bid for the contracts… but an official request for qualifications has not yet been issued," one source close to the project tells MEED.

It is understood the project entails an underground high-speed commuter train, extending roughly 170 kilometres, with three lines catering to The Line, and a fourth line linking to Oxagon, formerly Neom Industrial City.

MEED earlier reported that the scheme has two packages. 

Package A, covering spring and connector projects, entails the rolling stock, signalling, telecommunications and power systems.

Package B entails civil works and other related utility components.

Typical suppliers for package A include France's Alstom and Thales, Japan's Hitachi and Germany's Siemens. 

Two other rail schemes are being planned for Neom, according to industry sources. One is a freight line connecting Oxagon and The Line. 

It was revealed in July that The Line is designed to ultimately house 9 million residents, who will have access to the development’s facilities within a five-minute walk, in addition to a high-speed rail system with an end-to-end journey time of 20 minutes. 

Tunnels contracts

Contractors are competing for contracts to build more tunnels at the Neom development, as MEED reported.

Companies are preparing to submit bids in March for more tunnelling work on the Spine, which is the infrastructure corridor running under The Line.

Neom awarded contracts for constructing the mountain tunnel sections of The Line in June. The drill and blast works are split into four packages, with two contracting teams winning two packages each.

One joint-venture team is Spain’s FCC with the local Shibh al-Jazira Contracting Company (Sajco) and Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The other joint venture is Greece’s Archirodon with South Korean contractors Samsung C&T and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

Beijing-based China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) was awarded a contract in 2021 for the adits and portals package serving the bored tunnels.

Tendering is also expected to start soon for two more tunnelling packages connecting the Spine to the Connector South that runs from the Oxagon industrial city development to The Line.

Contractors have submitted expressions of interest for two design and build contracts on the project, which is known as the Delta Junction. The work covers five twin-track tunnels that are more than 26 kilometres long. Some tunnels will be mined, while other sections will be cut and cover.

There are also tunnels planned at the Trojena mountain resort that will host the Winter Asian Games in 2029. One of these tunnels, known as the Time Travel tunnel, will have a funicular railway. The others will be used for transporting supplies up to the mountain resort during the construction period and then later during its operations.

Contractors have also been invited to tender for packages related to the tunnelling works, including the provision of tunnel boring machines.

The Line design

The tunnels form part of the infrastructure backbone of Neom’s The Line development project.

The design of The Line project was officially revealed in July this year. It involves the construction of a 200-metre-wide building that acts as a vertical city extending 170 kilometres from the Red Sea coast towards Tabuk.

Incorporating an outer mirrored facade, The Line will sit 500 metres above sea level and be built across an area of 34 square kilometres.

In addition to The Line, formerly Spine, urban regions planned for development as part of Neom include Trojena, Gulf of Aqaba, Neom Bay, Oxagon and Neom Zero.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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