Webuild has signed a contract worth USD 1.5 billion to design and construct 57 km of a high-speed railway in NEOM, along the northern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.
Webuild and Shibh Al Jazira Contracting Company (SAJCO) are the two companies that make up the consortium. The contract, which is set to generate 4,000 direct and indirect jobs, covers the design and construction of most of the connector, a railroad linking Oxagon, NEOM’s center of excellence and clean manufacturing, with Line, the city of the future. The contract also covers viaducts, road bridges, road and rail underpasses to enable train speeds of up to 230 km/h. The joint venture agreement is split 70/30, where 70 percent remains with Webuild through the local subsidiary and Salini subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, and 30 percent with SAJCO. The companies will be responsible for the construction of two high-speed and two freight rail tracks, with Webuild leading the work. Having initially worked in Saudi Arabia in 1966 on hydraulic projects in Mecca, Jeddah and Riyadh, the Webuild Group has a long-standing presence in the region. Its portfolio includes over 70 healthcare centers, the Al Faisaliah District Redevelopment Project, the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh and Fisia Italimpianti’s construction of the Shuaibah III Expansion II IWP desalination plant, serving over one million residents in remote parts of Mecca and Taif.
The NEOM railway line will take 20 minutes from end to end. It will be built underground and controlled by the latest wireless control and security technologies. Used for passenger traffic between the two terminals, it will span 170 km.
NEOM, one of Saudi Arabia’s major giga-projects, is renowned for its ambitious regional development called THE LINE, which was announced in 2021. This sustainable urban living blueprint aims to create a 170-km-long city without traditional roads or cars, accommodating up to nine million people within a compact 34-sqm area. NEOM’s vision includes 100 percent clean energy utilization through solar, wind and green, hydrogen-based sources.
