RIYADH (SAUDI ARABIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has awarded the contract for the extension of the Riyadh Metròs Red Line to a consortium led by Webuild, with the participation of L&T (India), NESMA (Saudi Arabia) and Alstom (France).
The project involves the design and construction of 8.4 km of new driverless metro line, including 1.3 km of elevated viaduct and 7.1 km underground. It also includes five stations, three of which will be underground, as well as all signalling systems. Tunnel excavation will be carried out using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).
The Red Line extension forms part of the world’s longest fully driverless metro network, developed by the RCRC and officially recognised as such by Guinness World Records. One of the project’s key objectives is to integrate the new section with the entire six-line driverless network, inaugurated in Riyadh last December. Spanning 176 km, the network is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the world.
The new section will add two additional stations serving King Saud University and will provide access to newly developing areas of Riyadh. In particular, it will connect the existing Red Line and the wider metro network to Diriyah, Saudi Arabiàs first capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Diriyah is currently undergoing a major development project aimed at transforming the area into a leading cultural and tourism hub for the region, while preserving its history and traditional Najdi architecture.
The Webuild Group has a long-standing presence in Saudi Arabia, where it began operations in 1966. In Riyadh, the Group is currently involved in several projects, including a 10,500-space underground mega car park for the Diriyah Gate Development Authority. Completed projects include the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, which won the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Award for the world’s best skyscraper design, more than 70 healthcare facilities, and the Shoaiba-3 desalination plant, built by Fisia Italimpianti, a Webuild subsidiary specialising in water treatment and desalination.
Webuild has extensive experience in metro construction, with a global track record of more than 890 km of new lines delivered worldwide. Recent inaugurations include two new archaeological stations on Romès Metro Line C (Porta Metronia and Colosseo/Fori Imperiali), the final section of Milan’s M4 line, and the Thessaloniki Metro, Greecès first driverless line. Major projects currently under way include Lines 15 West and 16 of the Grand Paris Express in France, Lines 2 and 4 of the Lima Metro in Peru, and the Sydney Metro-Western Sydney International Airport project in Australia. In Italy, Webuild is nearing completion of the Capodichino station on Naples Metro Line 1 and has recently won the contract to build the new Naples Metro Line 10.
– Webuild press office photo –
(ITALPRESS).
