Saudi Arabia will launch the first phase of the world’s longest driverless metro in its capital Riyadh on Wednesday after it was tested over the past weeks, a newspaper has said.

Phase 1 of Riyadh Metro, which was awarded more than 10 years ago, includes the operation of three main lines through a number of districts in Riyadh and ticket prices have already been set, the Arabic language daily Aleqtisadia said.

It quoted Transport Ministry officials as saying the remaining three lines would be commissioned at the end of 2024 or in early 2025.

“Official sources affirmed the date of the launch of phase 1…as for ticket prices, they said they will be affordable in order to encourage as many people as possible to use the metro to help authorities achieve the target of reducing road bottlenecks by 20-30 percent.”

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, announced in 2013 it has awarded $22.5 billion in contracts for the design and construction of the Riyadh Metro, part of a massive domestic public transport system in the capital and other Saudi cities.

US construction giant Bechtel Corp heads BACS Consortium which won a $9.45 billion contract to build two lines (Lines 1 and 2)  while FAST Consortium led by Spain's Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas won a $7.82 billion contract for three lines (Lines 4, 5 and 6). Italy's WeBuild heads ArRiyadh New Mobility (ANM) Consortium that won a $5.21 billion order for Line 3.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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