- Title: SAUDI ARABIA-METRO/CONSTRUCTION Riyadh metro provides hope for commuters
- Date: 15th October 2014
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 11, 2014) (REUTERS) MAN AND HIS CHILDREN WALKING BY BIG ADVERTISING BANNER FOR THE RIYADH METRO BIG ADVERTISING BANNER READING ARABIC AND ENGLISH 'RIYADH METRO' TRAFFIC CONGESTION BESIDE THE MAIN OLAYA STATION OF THE RIYADH METRO VARIOUS OF BULLDOZERS WORKING ON OLAYA STREET METRO CONSTRUCTION RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 12, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ENGINEER ABDULLAH ALLOHAIDAN, FROM THE ARRIYADH DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (ADA), SAYING: "The Riyadh Metro project is part of the King Abdulaziz project for public transport. It contains 6 tracks and 85 stations, some are over ground stations and others are underground, there are also stations that are built over bridges. Those stations were built based on engineering designs and very high standards." RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 11, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC JAMS ON THE RIYADH-DAMMAM ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RIYADH CITIZEN, AHMED AL-RIBDI, SAYING: "This is a large project and, God willing, will ease traffic congestion and save time, now congestion has increased (due to digging works), but it is temporary, God willing." SIGN (IN SHAPE OF WORKER) DIRECTING TRAFFIC MOVEMENT AWAY FROM CONSTRUCTION WORKS WORKERS PREPARING SITE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE METRO IN OLAYA STREET FAMOUS KINGDOM TOWER IN AL-OLAYA STREET VARIOUS OF BULLDOZERS CLEANING THE STREET IN PREPARATION FOR DRILLING UNDER GROUND VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC JAM ON THE KING FAHAD ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RIYADH CITIZEN ABDULMJEED, SAYING: "The metro project is good, The United Arab Emirates, for example has built a metro and succeeded in doing so, God willing it will succeed in our country, but at the present time it is difficult because of congestion and excavations and street closures." TRAFFIC CONGESTION RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 12, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ENGINEER ABDULLAH ALLOHAIDAN, FROM THE ARRIYADH DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (ADA), SAYING: "The project will lead to a quantum leap in the city (Riyadh) and will contribute to reducing traffic jam and will put the city of Riyadh within the ranks of developed cities, the project is considered as a very important project as it is the biggest project in Saudi Arabia." RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 11, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS CLEANING THE STREET AHEAD OF DRILLING MACHINES ARRIVING TO DIG UNDERGROUND VARIOUS OF PHILIPPINE WORKER DRILLING CEMENT BLOCKS USED TO DIVERT TRAFFIC (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RIYADH CITIZEN, FAHAD AL-ONAIZI, SAYING: "My work begins at seven o'clock, I leave home at six o'clock and arrive at half past eight-nine o'clock because of the congestion, even if they build the metro, we will remain suffering the congestion especially us, the citizens of Riyadh." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION
- Embargoed: 30th October 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA7D9GOKFRNHDSRQUHGO5M0V9LY
- Story Text: The largest infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh's metro rail line, is under construction in the centre of the city.
Costing at least 84 billion Saudi Riyals (SR) (23.5 billion U.S. Dollars (USD), the new public transport system, which is currently the world's biggest in development, will provide six rail lines extending 176 kilometres (110 miles), 85 stations and carry electric, driverless trains.
Five thousand workers are currently employed preparing the city's streets, diverting traffic and breaking ground before diggers arrive to excavate under the city's central areas, including Olaya street and Kingdom tower. That figure will soar to an estimated 55 thousand workers, arriving in stages, for whom visas have already been granted, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) says.
"The Riyadh Metro project is part of the King Abdulaziz project for public transport. It contains 6 tracks and 85 stations, some are over ground stations and others are underground, there are also stations that are built over bridges. Those stations were built based on engineering designs and very high standards," Arriyadh Development Authority Engineer, Abdullah Allohaidan, told Reuters TV.
Riyadh's population currently stands at 5.7 million, but is expected to reach 8.3 million by 2030, ADA says. With 800,000 cars on the city streets - a figure that increases daily - Riyadh's roads are congested and polluted. There are an estimated 50 million car journeys in the city, daily, an ADA study reported in 2011.
Whilst the five-year build for the metro will increase congestion in the short term, commuters are hopeful of the long-term benefits.
"This is a large project and, God willing, will ease traffic congestion and save time, now congestion has increased (due to digging works), but it is temporary, God willing," said Riyadh resident, Ahmed Al-Ribdi.
His comments were echoed by another city dweller, Abdulmjeed.
"The metro project is good, The United Arab Emirates, for example has built a metro and succeeded in doing so, God willing it will succeed in our country, but at the present time it is difficult because of congestion and excavations and street closures."
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.
The government approved a 16.5 billion USD plan to modernise the transport system in its holy city of Mecca, including building a bus network and a metro system and is also building several other rail systems, including a 2,750 km line running from Riyadh to near the northern border with Jordan.
Allohaidan said the project was a massive step forward for Riyadh.
"The project will lead to a quantum leap in the city (Riyadh) and will contribute to reducing traffic jam and will put the city of Riyadh within the ranks of developed cities, the project is considered as a very important project as it is the biggest project in Saudi Arabia," he said.
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.
But for one driver, the new rail system can't come soon enough, and fears the metro may not help with the daily traffic jams.
"My work begins at seven o'clock, I leave home at six o'clock and arrive at half past eight-nine o'clock because of the congestion, even if they build the metro, we will remain suffering the congestion especially us, the citizens of Riyadh," said Fahad Al-Onaizi.
The Saudi Arabian government awarded 22.5 billion USD in contracts to three foreign-led consortia for the design and construction of the metro, the government announced in June 2013.
U.S. construction giant Bechtel Corp heads a group which won a 9.45 billion USD contract to build two lines, a consortium led by Spain's Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC.MC) won a 7.82 billion USD contract for three lines, while Italy's Ansaldo STS (STS.MI) heads a group that won a 5.21 billion USD order.
For every Saudi Riyal spent on the metro, ADA says three SR will be generated in terms of savings from direct and indirect costs due to pollution, energy consumption, road accidents, lack of efficiency, and lack of performance.
The authority promises on its website that the new transport system will provide park and ride facilities and even free taxi cabs to stations for residents who live more than 400 metres away from one.
The six metro lines will be differentiated by colour. Line 1 (blue) is the Olaya-Batha route, line 2 (red) is King Abdullah Road, line 3 (orange) is Madinah Road, line 4 (yellow) is the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) to the airport, line 5 (green) is King Abdulaziz Road and line 6 (purple) is KAFD to Abdulrahman bin Ouf & Sheikh Hassan Bin Hussein Bin Ali Road.
The project is expected to be completed in 2019.
It is projected to carry 1.16 million passengers daily when launched, increasing to nearly 3.6 million within 10 years - a significant fraction of all trips in the country.
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