The Council of Ministers has approved a landbridge project linking the Jeddah Islamic Port to Dammam and Jubail seaports through the existing railway network between Riyadh and Dammam. The Cabinet meeting here Monday, presided over by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, approved the construction of the railway line which will link the western part of the Kingdom on the Red Sea coast to its eastern part on the Arabian Gulf. This massive railway project will be carried out in the same way as the North-South landbridge and the Haramain Train projects are currently being constructed. The Cabinet assigned the General Investment Fund to finance the project's infrastructure. The operation of the project will be offered for public bidding provided that the government will own the infrastructure of existing and future railway projects. The Cabinet also reviewed the Haj preparations undertaken by various agencies involved in the service of the pilgrims who have started arriving in the Kingdom. Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the ministers praised the efforts being exerted by the Ministry of Haj and all administrations operating under the Higher Haj Committee aimed at providing quality services to the Guests of Allah to enable them to perform their rituals in ease and comfort. The ministers also listened to a report by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on the agreement signed by Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical for the setting up of a petrochemical complex (Sadara Company) in Jubail Industrial City. The total cost for the project, the largest in the world, is $20 billion, to be shared equally by the two companies. The project will strengthen the Kingdom's position in the field of chemical industries at the international level. Moreover, it reflects the great interest of international companies to enter into partnership with companies in the Kingdom because of lucrative and profitable local investments. Reviewing the developments in some regional countries, the ministers condemned the recent blasts in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. The Council described the blasts as criminal acts that contravene Islamic teachings and offered its condolences to the Somali government and the families of those killed and injured. The Cabinet also condemned the burning down of Annour grand mosque in Galileo by Jewish settlers and extremists. These acts, the Cabinet noted, are part of terrorist Israeli acts aimed at erasing the Palestinian identity. The ministers praised the King's patronage of the extraordinary session of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Islamic World. It was organized by the Kingdom last week. The Council also approved the setting up of a branch of the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Beijing University, China.
