On the edge of the desert in the northern suburbs of Riyadh, the roar of bulldozers has not yet begun, and a contract game surrounding a 35 kilometer railway has reached its doorstep. Recently, Middle Eastern media MEED and Construction Review simultaneously disclosed that the Riyadh section of the Saudi Arabian Land Bridge Railway, led by Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR), has officially entered the bidding clarification stage - the owner is checking the design details, construction plans, and contract terms with the shortlisted parties one by one, which is usually considered the final confirmation stage before the contract is awarded.

This double track railway that runs through the north and south of the capital, although only about 35 kilometers long, has to carry all the hard work of tracks, bridges, elevated tracks, stations, and supporting electromechanical signals. In the future, it will sew together the north-south railway trunk line, the eastern railway network, and the subsequent main line that crosses the peninsula. It is also the first construction package in the entire land bridge plan to truly reach the clarification stage.

There are only two Chinese enterprises left in the top four

The latest clarification list includes four international consortia, with Chinese enterprises accounting for half of them:

China Civil Engineering Group collaborates with Saudi Arabia Ayuni Investment Contracting Company

China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd. partners with Nesma&Partners from Saudi Arabia

A tripartite combination of Saudi Al Rashid Trade Contracting Company, Türkiye IC Ictas and Italy Saipem

Saudi Bin Laden Group's independent bidding

More than a month ago, there were five on the list. The consortium of POWERCHINA and SAPAC of Saudi Arabia withdrew after the clarification meeting in mid July, and Türkiye and Saudi Arabia joined the Italian Saipem to expand its staff. Chinese enterprises have not withdrawn, but have gone from three to two, and are attacking separately with their expertise in railway construction and port engineering.

From a comprehensive package to a segmented section

The land bridge railway is not a new story. In 2004, Saudi Arabia proposed a plan to connect Jeddah Islamic Port in the Red Sea, the capital Riyadh, and King Abdulaziz Port in the Persian Gulf. The total length of the main line and existing lines will be upgraded to over 1500 kilometers, and the overall investment estimate will climb from 7 billion US dollars in the early stage to 26.6 billion US dollars. The goal is to put the entire line into operation around 2034.

Initially, Saudi Arabia intended to package the entire project with a single master contract or PPP, with a consortium responsible for financing, design, construction, and partial operation. The China Saudi Arabia Land Bridge Consortium (SLCC), led by China Civil Engineering, has been deeply involved in route research and negotiations, but has been stuck in the hurdle of localization rate - Saudi Arabia requires a localization ratio of no less than 60% for procurement, labor, technology, and services in all dimensions. The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement for a long time, and in January 2026, SAR announced the breakdown of negotiations.

The packaging mode was immediately abandoned and replaced with rolling bidding by section and design build (DB) first. The Riyadh section is the first bait thrown out under the new mechanism, and subsequent sections such as the Jeddah Riyadh 950 kilometer new line, Dammam Riyadh upgraded line, and bypass line will be cut in batches.

Weight of 35 kilometers

For SAR, cutting small sections is not just a compromise, but also a risk control measure: the amount of each package can be controlled, funding can be allocated according to the progress, local small and medium-sized contractors can squeeze into the supporting links, and it also avoids putting all the financing burden on one consortium.

For Chinese enterprises, a yellow overall agreement does not mean they are eliminated. China Civil Engineering has shifted from being a strategic partner in the early stages to a bidder on the clarification list. China Harbour, with its experience in port and railway, has bound up with local partners to continue its presence. Its role has shifted from overall control to segmented competition, but its engineering capabilities are still needed by the owner.

Once this 35 kilometer double track line lands, freight trains can run at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour and passenger trains can run at 250 kilometers per hour. Goods between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf no longer need to be transported by sea around the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and land intermodal transportation can be directly compressed within one day. It is short, but it is the first buttonhole of the national railway network in Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision - the buttonhole is sewn straight, and the remaining 1500 kilometers can only be threaded.keywords:Foreign construction news network

The clarification meeting is over, and the contract may not be signed tomorrow, but the Riyadh section has already pushed the land bridge railway from the drawings to the entrance of the construction site. Chinese enterprises are not the leader of the overall package this time, but they are the most stable half of the chips in the final four.Editor/Yang Meiling