The stormwater drain work in progress.

UK-BASED Hydro International, a major player in the water and wastewater sector, has completed the stormwater attenuation and underground storage work for the Al Haramain High-Speed rail project in Saudi Arabia.

Construction of the 449.2-km high-speed Al Haramain railway began in 2009 to link the cities of Makkah and Madinah via King Abdullah Economic City, Rabigh, Jeddah, and King Abdulaziz International Airport.

The Hydro project was aimed at securing high-capacity flood prevention for the new stations being constructed in one of Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious and far-reaching infrastructure projects.

Each of the stations planned has an aesthetically-striking modern design that echoes Islamic architectural traditions, said a spokesman for the company.

All of them will have shops, restaurants, mosques, car parking, a helipad and VIP lounges, he added.

Till date, Hydro has provided geocellular stormwater storage along with Hydro-Brake Optimum flow controls for underground stormwater storage tanks for the Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City stations under a $5-million contract.

The deal comes after the company appointed Jeddah-based Centex Arabia, part of the Alkhorayef Group of Companies, as its agent.

Under the contract, more than 18,000 cu m of storage capacity has been created in seven underground tanks with discharge to the sewer network controlled at 270 litres per second by a Hydro-Brake Optimum vortex flow control.