Riyadh Metro, Saudi Arabia Infrastructure Development, Middle East Architecture
Riyadh Metro, Saudi Arabia
Middle East Transport Development – design by FCC
29 Jul 2013
Riyadh Transport Development
Design: FCC
Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
FCC LANDS LARGEST INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT IN THE HISTORY OF SPAIN’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
• The overall budget for Riyadh subway is more than 16.3 billion euro
• A consortium led by FCC, will build lines 4, 5 and 6 of the city’s metro system for 6.07 billion euro
• The consortium includes Samsung (Korea), Alstom (France), Strukton (The Netherlands), Freyssinet Saudi Arabia and engineering companies Typsa (Spain) and Setec (France)
• The Riyadh metro will be the longest in the world under construction, measuring 176 kilometres
• The project, which has an execution period of 5 years, will create more than 15,000 jobs
image from architect
London/Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), 29 July 2013: FCC, the infrastructure and environmental services group, has achieved a new milestone in international construction. The company has been awarded one of the contracts to build the Riyadh metro (Saudi Arabia), which has an estimated budget of over 16.3 billion euro, i.e. 2.5 times the cost of the Medina-Mecca railway. This is the largest international contract in the history of construction in which a Spanish company has been awarded a contract. The consortium headed by FCC will build lines 4, 5 and 6 of the metro. The contract is worth 6.070 billion euro.
FCC’s main consortium partners are Korean company Samsung and French company Alstom. The other members are Strukton (The Netherlands), Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Typsa (Spain) and Setec (France). The project is to be executed in 5 years, and will employ 15,000 people.
The Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) has awarded the FCC-led consortium one of three contracts to build the Riyadh metro, the longest subway system under development in the world (176 kilometres). The contract includes the design and construction of lines 4 (orange), 5 (yellow) and 6 (purple), which will have 25 stations. Construction will include 64.6 kilometres of rail track: 29.8 kilometres of viaducts, 26.6 kilometres of underground track, and 8.2 kilometres of overground track.
image from architect
Juan Béjar, Vice-President and CEO of FCC: “The Riyadh metro contract consolidates Spanish companies’ international reputation in global civil engineering projects. FCC’S references were instrumental in our successful bid for this project. The Riyadh metro contract dovetails perfectly with FCC’s new international strategy in construction, which is focused on infrastructure and on countries where we can best leverage our capabilities.”
The Riyadh metro is one of the largest public works projects in the world at present. The process commenced in July 2012, when 37 consortia comprising world leaders in construction, rolling stock and railway systems presented expressions of interest. Only four of these candidates were pre-qualified: those headed by Siemens with Vinci, Bombardier with OHL, and Ansaldo with Strabag.
The consortium headed by FCC will use three tunnel boring machines (TBM) to build tunnels almost 10 metres in diameter for the three lines. These lines will use two-car conductorless trainsets supplied by Alstom. There will be four types of stations: elevated, ground level, underground and intermodal to connect with different lines.
image from architect
The largest subway project in the world
The six lines comprising the Riyadh metro project will span more than 176 kilometres, making it the largest metro under development in the world at present. Construction will require 600,000 tonnes of steel (80 times the amount used to build the Eiffel Tower) and 4.3 million cubic metres of concrete (11 times the amount used for Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper), and will employ over 30,000 workers, of which more than half correspond to the consortium led by FCC.
This new metro will transform Riyadh, reducing traffic congestion, strengthening and driving the Saudi economy and improving living standards for citizens.
Riyadh currently has a population of 5.7 million, which is expected to increase to 8.3 million by 2030. The subway is a solution to daily traffic problems: of 7.4 million daily commutes; only 2% use public transport.
images from architect
FCC in the Middle East
This contract strengthens FCC’s presence in Saudi Arabia, where it has operated for more than two years via FCC Aqualia to optimise Riyadh’s water supply network, which measures over 6,000 kilometres. This project has created 160 jobs and will improve the services provided to more than 3 million people.
This was the first water management contract granted to a Spanish company in the Middle East. FCC Aqualia landed another contract in this market some months later: operation and maintenance of the sewers and sewage treatment system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
FCC also has offices in Qatar and Kuwait. In Qatar, it is currently building two pedestrian walkways as well as phase II of the Barzan camp housing development in Al Wajba, 15 kilometres from the capital city. It has also built other landmark projects in the zone, such as the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
images from architect
Extensive international experience in subway construction
FCC already has extensive experience building metro systems throughout the world. FCC participated in the construction of the Lisbon Metro (Alameda-Expo section) and in the extension of line 2 of Athens Metro, which includes construction of two new stations (Periteri and Anthoupoli), and the Delhi Metro in India.
Juan Bejar (FCC CEO) Esther Alcocer (FCC Chairwoman):
photo from FCC
The company is currently building line 1 of the Panama metro, worth over 1 billion euro, the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) in Canada, which includes construction of the North tunnels and the Highway 407 Station and is worth 304 million euro, section 1 of Bucharest Metro’s line 5 (Romania), for 267 million euro, the Malaga Metro, and Barcelona Metro line 8.
FCC also built extensions to Madrid Metro, including line 10, line 8 (Barajas-T4), and line 3 (from Legazpi to Villaverde), as well as sections I and III of Metrosur. In Barcelona, the company built several sections of Metro lines 2, 5 and 9.
Riyadh Metro images / information from FCC
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Design: Schiattarella Associati, Architects
image courtesy of architects
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