SAUDI ARABIA-RIYADH METRO PROJECT Riyadh's multi-billion dollar metro project makes progress

Record ID: 140852

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA-RIYADH METRO PROJECT Riyadh's multi-billion dollar metro project makes progress
  • Date: 27th August 2015
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (AUGUST 26, 2015) (REUTERS) MEDIA AND ENGINEERS GATHERING AT KING ABDULAZIZ ROAD AT THE METRO GREEN LINE STATION REPORTERS WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS TOWARDS THE METRO TUNNEL TUNNEL OVERLOOKING METRO STATION TRAIN TRACK (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AT THE HIGH COMMISSION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARRIYADH, ALWALID ELKRISH, SAYING: "The Riyadh metro is a public transport network that operates at an international standard. It will contain stations, train tracks, over ground, ground, and underground tracks. The length of the network is about 176 kilometres with 85 stations including 4 main ones." ENTRANCE TO TRAIN TUNNEL VARIOUS OF SMALL TRAIN USED FOR CONSTRUCTION TRANSPORT DRIVING ON TRACK, MAKING ITS WAY TO TUNNEL SMALL TRAIN DRIVING PAST, CARRYING ENGINEERS AND REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AT THE HIGH COMMISSION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARRIYADH, ALWALID ELKRISH, SAYING: "The full capacity of the metro is 3 million passengers a year, this capacity has many benefits, which of course ease congestion on the roads, reduce the road maintenance costs, reduce traffic accidents, and death caused by accidents, reduces extra work hours which are often a result of road accidents, as well as the environmental benefits, including the reduction of pollution in the city of Riyadh, God willing." VARIOUS OF MOVING SHOTS OF TUNNEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROJECT MANAGER OF METRO TUNNELS, FAST CONSORTIUM, JAIME FREYRE DE ANDRADE, SAYING: "We are having work in the last 22 months, I think that the progress is about 21 percent, so we should be very proud about the progress that we have achieved until now. I think that all the citizens of Riyadh have seen the big change in the city since we start, now they are suffering a lot from the impact of the metro, we are trying to mediate on daily basis but we are very thankful for their support and the patience, while we are working on the streets, they had to realise that this is the biggest project in the city nowadays running with six lines at the same time and they should be aware that what we are doing now is a big challenge for all of us and for the Kingdom." MAN USING REMOTE CONTROL TO CONTROL THE GIANT TUNNEL-BORING MACHINE (TBM) MACHINE MOVING
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACGK2B6DU58A152E78L6T9PEOJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Construction work for Riyadh $22.5 billion metro project is making a progress in the Saudi capital, with managers saying nearly quarter of the work has been accomplished.
    The project, which will involve six rail lines extending 176 kilometres (110 miles) and carrying electric, driverless trains, is the world's largest public transport system currently under development, according to Saudi officials.
    Thousands of workers are currently employed preparing the city's streets, diverting traffic and breaking ground for tunnels.
    The director of the construction development projects of Arriyadh, Alwalid Elkrish, explained more about the project's services and objectives.
    "The Riyadh metro is a public transport network that operates at an international standard. It will contain stations, train tracks, over ground, ground, and underground tracks. The length of the network is about 176 kilometers with 85 stations including 4 main ones," Elkrish told Reuters.
    "The full capacity of the metro is 3 million passengers a year, this capacity has many benefits, which of course ease congestion on the roads, reduce the road maintenance costs, reduce traffic accidents, and death caused by accidents, reduces extra work hours which are often a result of road accidents, as well as the environmental benefits, including the reduction of pollution in the city of Riyadh," he added.
    Flush with cash after years of high oil prices, Saudi Arabia is pumping billions of dollars into infrastructure projects designed to improve living standards and ease social discontent in the wake of the 2011 uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.
    Saudi officials said Riyadh's population was projected to grow from 6 million to over 8 million in the next 10 years, making the metro vital to ease congestion and pollution in the capital's streets.
    Jaime Freyre De Andrade, one of the project managers, spoke about the project's progress, acknowledging the residents' cooperation with engineers working at the site.
    "We are having work in the last 22 month, I think that the progress is about 21 percent, so we should be very proud about the progress that we have achieved until now. I think that all the citizens of Riyadh have seen the big change in the city since we start," he said.
    "Now they are suffering a lot from the impact of the metro, we are trying to mediate on daily basis but we are very thankful for their support and the patience, while we are working on the streets, they had to realise that this is the biggest project in the city now a days running with six lines at the same time and they should be aware that what we are doing now is a big challenge for all of us and for the Kingdom," he added.
    The project's construction work began in the first quarter of 2014. The metro project is expected to be completed in 2019, the government said.
    Saudi Arabia has only limited public transport facilities and Riyadh suffers grinding congestion for much of the day and into late evenings.
    In addition to raising living standards, the government says it wants to upgrade the country's infrastructure to help the economy diversify beyond oil, making it less vulnerable to any future plunge of global oil prices.
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