Amman - The Jordanian government on Saturday invited seven international firms vying for financial, technical and legal consultation services to build a multi-billion-dollar railway network in the country to present their offers on December 12, a senior official said. One of the contenders will be chosen to start its work in mid- March 2009 to study the project's plan drafted by the government in accordance with the build, operate and transfer (BOT) formula, Transport Ministry Undersecretary Mohannad Qudah said.
He pointed out that the project's steering committee, chaired by Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh, would shortly appoint an international engineering firm to draw up the preliminary designs of the 1,086-kilometre railway network with an estimated cost of 6 billion dollars.
Negotiations are expected to open early next year among Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq with a view to working out "bilateral or regional agreements" due to govern the railway links which would connect the four Arab countries, Qudah said.
