SAUDI ARABIA: The Ministry of Finance and Saudi Railway Co signed contracts totalling 2·34bn riyals for works on the North-South Railway on January 7.

Al Rashid Trading signed a 1·57bn riyal contract to build stations at Majma'a, Qasim (Buraydah), Ha'il, Al Jawf and Al Qurayyat. Yapi Merkezi was awarded a 496m riyal contract to build a maintenance depot at Na'ariyah, while Sulaiman Al Qudaibi & Sons signed a 272m riyal contract to provide 15 track maintenance facilities and 19 other buildings. 

Saudi Railway Co has also signed a memorandum of understanding covering the construction of a rail network linking Sadara Chemical Co's Jubail manufacturing complex to the King Fahd and Jubail Commercial ports from 2014. 

• Spain's recently-appointed Development Minister Ana Pastor visited Riyadh on January 14 to witness the signing of the contract to supply railway systems and rolling stock and operate and maintain the 444 km Haramain High Speed Rail project between Makkah and Madinah. The winning AlShoula Consortium led by Talgo has 12 Spanish members including state-owned companies ADIF, Ineco and RENFE.