Editorial: Landbridge Revolution

The announcement that four consortia have been given the go-ahead by the Supreme Economic Council to submit their plans and prices for the landbridge rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf brings forward in one giant step a project that will have massive consequences for the Saudi economy. The multibillion-riyal project — one of the largest civil engineering schemes ever undertaken in the Middle East, necessitating 28 kilometers of tunnels and 100 bridges — is on par with the massive infrastructural developments of the 1970s oil boom that transformed Saudi Arabia economically, socially, demographically and physically.

This Arab News editorial is about as up-beat as it’s possible to be. But it also does a good job of explaining how this major feat of infrastructure development could lead to major economic development. Take a look.