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Saudi Arabia has approved the doubling of the Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) North Train Freight Line with an investment of some SAR 4 bn (USD 1 bn), Arab News reported last week, citing comments made by Saudi Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser at the Future Minerals Forum. The investment will enhance transport infrastructure in a bid to boost the kingdom’s mining sector, Al-Jasser said.
About North Train Freight Line: The 1.5k km freight line, previously called the North-South Railway, is Saudi Arabia’s longest railway and supports mining operations. The railway connects phosphate and bauxite mines in the Kingdom’s far north to Al-Baitha junction, from which it splits south to Riyadh and east to fertilizer and alumina refining hubs at Ras Al-Khair. The SAR North freight fleet consists of 61 locomotives, 523 wagons for the transport of phosphate, 240 for bauxite transportation, 562 wagons for molten sulfur, and 589 wagons for phosphoric acid, according to SAR’s website.
KSA’s transport and logistics strategy sees some SAR 1.3 tn in investments in the sector, with the majority of that sum financed by private firms, the news outlet cites Al-Jasser as saying. “Infrastructure projects, including transportation projects, are capital-intensive and require huge investment. No matter how much government money we have, it is not enough. So, we have to partner with the local and international private sector to build these infrastructures,” he explained. The strategy looks to develop the kingdom into a global logistics hub.
