- Title: SAUDI ARABIA-METRO Digging on Riyadh's new metro system gets under way
- Date: 18th January 2015
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 15, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF REPORTERS AND ENGINEERS ENTERING TUNNEL VARIOUS OF RIYADH GOVERNOR INSPECTING THE TUNNEL VARIOUS OF RIYADH GOVERNOR LISTENING TO ENGINEER EXPLAINING ABOUT THE PROJECT BANNER SHOWING PROJECT SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RIYADH GOVERNOR, PRINCE TURKI BIN ABDULLAH, SAYING: "We are proud today to be at a depth of 25 metre underground, almost 100-200 metres into the tunnel under our capital Riyadh. We are proud of this national achievement, and we hope the project has continuing success." RIYADH GOVERNOR MEETING ENGINEERS IN THE TUNNEL INSIDE TUNNEL VARIOUS OF BULLDOZER WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONSORTIUM PROJECT DIRECTOR, AMJAD BANGASH, SAYING: "Not many places in the world will build six metro lines at one time, this is truly one of those rare moments and it's truly an engineering challenge for us as the contractors but also for the client to manage everybody together and then it is also a big challenge for the city of Riyadh and its public and the residents because of all the traffic working around construction sites."
- Embargoed: 2nd February 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA6DIND1IU38YJ5LDNJS50877C1
- Story Text: Riyadh's governor says that work on a new multi billion dollar metro system is running ahead of schedule, in a meeting with reporters held 25 metres underground.
Governor Prince Turki bin Abdullah, who is also the president of The High Commission for the Development of Riyadh, said the $22.5 billion project could be ready 10 percent faster than originally forecast.
"We are proud today to be at a depth of 25 metre underground, almost 100-200 metres into the tunnel under our capital Riyadh. We are proud of this national achievement, and we hope the project has continuing success," he said.
Project officials said that drilling has now extended over 200 metres east and west.
The metro system will have 87 stations on six lines, and all are being constructed simultaneously.
Contractor Amjad Bangash said the scale of the project represents a huge engineering challenge.
"Not many places in the world will build six metro lines at one time, this is truly one of those rare moments and it's truly an engineering challenge for us as the contractors but also for the client to manage everybody together and then it is also a big challenge for the city of Riyadh and its public and the residents because of the all the traffic working around construction sites," he said.
The metro project is due to be completed by 2018.
The government is also building several other rail systems, including a 2,750 km line running from Riyadh to near the northern border with Jordan.
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.
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 in global oil prices. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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