SAUDI ARABIA: Construction of the Riyadh metro was officially started on April 3 with a groundbreaking ceremony led by Riyadh Governor Prince Khaled bin Bandar.
Work started at five sites simultaneously. These include King Khaled International Airport, Olaya at the intersection of line 1 and 2, and the site of the control centre on Line 4, close to Princess Nora University. The six-line, 176 km network is due for completion by 2019.
Lines 1 and 2 are being designed and built by the BACS consortium led by Bechtel and including Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company and Siemens under a US$9·45bn contract.
The ArRiyadh New Mobility is designing and building Line 3 under a US$5·21bn contract. The consortium comprises two groups: the Electrical Work Group comprising Ansaldo STS and Bombardier Transportation, and the Civil Work Group of Salini-Impregilo, Larsen & Toubro and Nesma.
The FAST consortium led by FCC and including Samsung C&T, Alstom, Strukton, Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Typsa and Setec is to build lines 4, 5 and 6 for US$7·82bn.
- A detailed report on the Riyadh metro project appeared in the February 2014 issue of Railway Gazette International, accessible to subscribers in the digital archive.
