Riyadh metro contracts
October 10, 2013
Siemens has signed contracts for 74 metro trains, as well as for the complete signal and communications equipment on two lines of the new six-line driverless metro network in Riyadh, the German engineering firm announced Thursday.
The contracts were worth about 1.5 billion euros ($2.02 billion), Siemens said a statement.
In July this year, Arriyadh Development Authority awarded multi-billion-dollar contracts to three multi-national consortia from the US, Asia and Europe to design and construct the first commuter-rail network in the Saudi capital.
The Riyadh metro rail system, estimated to cost about $22 billion, involves six railway lines extending 176 kilometers, and is considered to be the world's largest public transport project.
Siemens will participate in building lines 1 and 2, in a consortium with US construction giant Bechtel, as well as local construction firms Almabani and the Consolidated Contractors company.
The Metro system is to go into operation in 2018, Siemens said, and is the firm's biggest order to date from the Middle Eastern region.
uhe/slk (Reuters, dpa)