The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has awarded the contract for the extension of Riyadh Metro’s Red Line to the Webuild-led Consortium, which includes India’s L&T, Saudi Arabia’s NESMA and France’s ALSTOM.
The project covers the design and construction of an 8.4km new driverless metro line, 1.3km of which will be on viaduct and the remaining 7.1km in tunnels. It also includes five stations – three of which are underground, as well as the signaling systems. A TBM will be used for the excavation of the tunnel section.
Part of the Red Line extension project’s scope is to integrate the new section with the whole system of six driverless lines launched in Riyadh last December, which covers 176km and is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the world.
The new section in the Saudi metro will add two more metro stations to King Saud University. In addition, it will serve new developments in the city of Riyadh and, in particular, will connect the existing Red Line and the rest of the Metro network with Diriyah, the first Saudi capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site, for which a major development project is underway to transform the area into a leading cultural and tourist center for the region, preserving its Najd heritage and architecture. More
By T. Thomas
