31 July 2013
Firms from around the world have been awarded approximately $24bn in contracts for the design and construction of a brand new metro rail system in Saudi Arabia.
The project in Riyadh will involve six rail lines extending 176km and will carry electric, driverless trains. Saudi officials say it’s the biggest public transport system currently under development anywhere in the world.
Design work starts immediately and construction will begin in the first quarter of 2014, and be complete in 2019, the government said.
US construction company Bechtel heads a consortium including Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company and Siemens (BACS) responsible for the design, construction, train cars, signalling, electrification and integration of two lines to the system.
That contract is worth around $10bn and is expected to be finalised next month.
The Saudi metro will consist of six rail lines covering 176km (Bechtel)
Next, a $6bn contract was awarded to a consortium led by Italy’s Ansaldo STS to build the longest of the six lines.
Under this contract, Salini-Impregilo, Larsen & Toubro and Nesma will be responsible for the civil works, Ansaldo STS for technology, and Bombardier for supplying vehicles.
Finally, a consortium led by Spain’s Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) was awarded an $8bn contract to design and build three of the metro lines. FCC’s main consortium partners are Korea’s Samsung and France’s Alstom.
It’s a major project for all companies involved.
FCC called it the "largest international contract in the history of Spain’s construction industry".
For more information see: Reuters, Bechtel, FCC, Ansaldo STS
