Riyadh Metro to open after 12 years of development involving multiple international companies
Saudi Arabia’s government inaugurated the Riyadh Metro, ending a 12-year megaproject involving dozens of engineering, design, and contracting firms worldwide.
The driverless metro system, costing approximately US$ 23 billion, spans six lines over 176 km with 85 stations, including 34 elevated ones. It is designed to transport up to 3.6 million passengers daily, alleviating traffic congestion in a rapidly growing city overwhelmed by vehicles. The system's launch will occur in phases: Lines 1 (Blue), 4 (Yellow), and 6 (Purple) will open on December 1, 2024. Lines 2 (Red) and 5 (Green) are set for December 15, and Line 3 (Orange) will follow on January 5, 2025. In 2013, three international construction and engineering consortia were awarded contracts to design and build the lines and stations.
- The “FAST” consortium won the biggest package, delivering lines 4, 5, and 6. Spain’s FCC led it with partners Samsung C&T (South Korea), Alstom (France), Strukton (Netherlands), Freyssinet Saudi Arabia (KSA), Atkins (now AtkinsRéalis, Canada), Typsa (Spain), and Setec (France).
- Lines 1 and 2 went to the “BACS” consortium comprising Bechtel (USA), Almabani (KSA), Consolidated Contractors Company (Greece), and Siemens (Germany).
- The “ANM” consortium built Line 3. Its members are Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo, Italy), Hitachi (Japan), Bombardier (now Alstom), Larsen & Toubro (India), Nesma & Partners (KSA), Idom (Spain), and Worley Parsons (Australia).
- The “RMTC” consortium of Egis (France), Parsons (USA), and Systra (France) also provided supervisory and project management services for Lines 1, 2, and 3.
The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) station was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (UK), the Qasr Al Hokm station by Snøhetta (Norway), the STC station by Gerber Architekten (Germany), and the Western Station by Omrania (KSA). The system's 183 trains were produced by Siemens (Germany) and Alstom (in collaboration with Bombardier, France) following a unified design by Avant Premiere (France).
