Jeddah, Dec 20: The multibillion-riyal Riyadh metro project has already seen hundreds of Saudi graduates employed and trained, said Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.
Prince Turki said those employed had graduated from universities abroad where they had studied under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program.
Speaking at the 10th meeting of the project’s contractors, he also said that more graduates would be employed over the next phases of the project.
The SR85 billion metro project is the linchpin of the Saudi capital’s modernization program.
It will be the backbone of the Saudi capital’s public transport system and a key component of growth. It is expected to be completed in less than five years.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah follows up every week on the progress of the project. Ten percent has already been completed according to schedule,” he said.
“The project has created jobs for Saudis in engineering and other scientific areas with contracting companies. There is cooperation between the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh and local academic institutions to train and develop Saudis working on the project,” he said.
The Riyadh metro has been advertised widely on television and in newspapers in the country. It was launched in 2013 by former Riyadh Governor Prince Khaled bin Bandar, who is now the deputy defense minister.
The three contractors are US construction company Bechtel Group Inc, Spain’s FCC and Italy’s Ansaldo STS. Bechtel heads a consortium that includes AECOM Technology Corp. and Germany’s Siemens, which were awarded the contract to build two rail lines.
Another consortium is led by Spanish construction firm FCC and includes France’s Alstom Transport and South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp. It will build three rail lines worth SR29.2 billion.
A third group, led by Italian Ansaldo STS, won a SR19.5 billion contract to build the remaining rail line.
The group comprises Canadian firm Bombardier and India’s Larsen & Toubro Limited.
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