The agreement on the Mecca monorail project was signed by Prince Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs, and the China Railway Company announced on Wednesday, during a visit by the Chinese president Hu Jintao.

The project will link the Holy sites of Mecca, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah at a cost of SR6.65bn ($1.78bn) and will be implemented over a two year period.

One third (35 percent) of the project’s capacity would be ready for use during Hajj 2010 (1431H) and full capacity would be achieved by Hajj 2012 (1433H), it was reported in Saudi daily Arab News.

The Chinese premier, arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday to meet with King Abdullah, as part of a three-day trip to strengthen strategic ties between the two countries.

The railway deal was one of five bilateral agreements that included cooperation in oil, gas and mining, health, quality inspection and standards of goods and services.

In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Jiang Yu, said that Beijing was especially interested in strengthening energy ties with Saudi Arabia.

“We value the role it plays and look forward to strengthening cooperation in this field,” Yu said.

“Trade with Saudi Arabia has more than doubled since 2005, rising 65 percent last year alone,” he added

China’s economic growth has pushed up its demand for oil and raised the importance of the relationship between the two countries.

More than half of China’s oil exports come from the Gulf, mainly from Saudi Arabia, which exported 36 million tons of oil to China in 2008.

Oil and oil products dominate bilateral trade worth about $42bn.