Saudi Arabia has reached an advanced stage of negotiations with global companies to launch the long-awaited Landbridge project, an official said in remarks on Tuesday.

The project involves the construction of a freight rail line between the capital Riyadh and the Western Red Sea port of Jeddah in addition to rail networks linking key industrial cities with ports in the Gulf Kingdom.

“The negotiations for starting the Landbridge project with international companies have reached an advanced stage,” said Suleiman Al-Mazrou, CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme (NIDLP).

He told local Arabic language daily Aliqtisadia that the “Landbridge” project is designed to link Saudi Arabia’s East with the West and Central regions and to turn the Kingdom into a major logistics hub within its ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification scheme.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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