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Saudi Arabia has decided to officially inaugurate the Riyadh Metro in its capital at the start of 2025, nearly 10 years after the project was awarded to three consortiums, a newspaper in the Gulf Kingdom reported on Tuesday.
The metro, one of the world’s largest public transport systems, had been due to be launched in October but operations were postponed to 2025, the Arabic language daily Aleqtisadia said, quoting “informed” Saudi sources.
“The Riyadh Metro Company has set the beginning of 2025 as the date for the commissioning of the metro,” the report said.
Phase 1 of the project covers nearly 50 percent of the road network and operators will meet next month to decide on ticket prices, it added.
In 2013, the Saudi government awarded $22.5 billion in contracts for the design and construction of the Riyadh Metro, part of a massive domestic public transport system.
US construction giant Bechtel Corp heads a group which won a $9.45 billion contract to build two lines while a consortium led by Spain's Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas won a $7.82 billion contract for three lines. Italy's Ansaldo STS heads a group that won a $5.21 billion order.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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