AMMAN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Jordan invited international firms to submit proposals by Jan. 12 on a railway linkage project, which would be part of a foreseeable regional railway network, local daily The Jordan Times reported on Sunday.

    Ministry of Transport Secretary General Muhannad Qudah said on Saturday that the winning company will begin work on the project under a build, operate and transfer basis in mid-March.

    According to a study released by the ministry in mid-year, the proposed railway project consists of two lines, the north-south line from the Syrian border to Aqaba passing through Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman and Maan, and the east-west line extending from the Iraqi toSaudi borders passing through Mafraq, Irbid and Azraq.

    The project's cost is estimated at 4.3 billion Jordanian dinars (about 6.1 billion U.S. dollars), with 2.8 billion dinars allocated for infrastructure and the remaining funds to be disbursed for purchasing rail fleet, said the ministry.

    The railway will be a multi-use system, transferring oil derivatives and gas from neighboring countries, containers, phosphate and cement, as well as general cargo and passengers.

    Ministry figures indicate that the government has paid 350 million dinars to acquire the needed land for the proposed railway, which would cover 1,086 kilometers.

    Jordan was among 13 Arab countries that approved an Arab railway project during the meetings of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Under the agreement, the states were requested to implement and renovate their internal railway networks within 10 to 15 years.

    Early next year, representatives from Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria will start negotiations to hammer out "bilateral and regional agreements" to govern the railway networks which would connect the four Arab countries, according to Qudah. (1 U.S. dollar= 0.708 Jordanian dinar)