Construction works to the metro transport project in the Saudi city of Jeddah will soon be initiated after the approval of the budget for the construction of the metro line. By initiating this project, the authorities plan to ease traffic in the city. Jeddah metro project has been approved following the elaborated analyses of the authorities regarding metro transport systems in developed countries.
Attending this year’s Middle East Rail conference, Ibrahim Kutubkhana, Executive Director of Jeddah Metro Company, said that the project has been a true challenge. However, the project was approved through ministerial decree in March 2014, thus receiving funds from the state budget to carry out construction works. According to the ministerial decree, the funds allocated to the implementation of this project amount to EUR 8.82 Billion.
Apart from Jeddah metro line, metro and tram lines will also be built in cities such as Medina and Dammam.
Jeddah Metro Company is a joint venture created by the Municipality and Jeddah Urban Regeneration Company. This joint venture seeks to implement a major transport project which includes the development of the metro and tram transport systems, and rail commuter transport services. The entire rail transport network created will have 249 km and will include the metro and the tram. Kutubkhana announced that this project will be developed in three phases.
The metro transport network will measure 108km disposed along three lines. The Orange Line will be 67-km long and will have 22 stations, the Blue line will have 27 km and 17 stations, while the Green Line will have 17 km and 7 stations. For now, the only metro line in Saudi Arabia is the 17-km long line in Mecca commissioned in 2010.
A metro transport line will also be built in Riyadh about which you can read more in the pages of the current issue of Railway Pro.
The tram transport network will have 48 km and 48 stations and the rail commuter line will have 93 km and 13 stations.
Last month, Saudi authorities announced that consultancy services for Jeddah Metro will be provided by AECOM consultant, the deal being recently sealed for EUR 20.5 Billion. The consultancy project will be ready in 18 months and the actual construction of the network will be started in 2015. The authorities announced that the project would be completed by 2022.
Osama Abdouh, representative of Jeddah Metro Company said his company wanted to build an integrated public transport system aimed to reduce traffic bottlenecks and car dependency.
Photo: http://defence.pk
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