Riyadh Metro – Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Riyadh Metro is a mega project being built in the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This ‘greenfield’ project is the largest transit capital expenditure program yet launched in the Kingdom. It comprises a network length of 176.5km, 85 transit stations and seven rail depots. The project was initiated by the client to provide a modern, world-class transportation network equipped with the latest technology. Valued at $27 Billion, it will play a critical role in alleviating the city’s traffic congestion where 90% of trips are undertaken in vehicles. The project is due for completion at the start of 2024.

Collaboration With The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC)

The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) awarded two of its three Program Management/ Construction Management (PM/CM) mega contracts to a Parsons-led joint venture called Riyadh Metro Transit Consultants (RMTC). The joint venture is represented by three of the world’s top transit PM/CM consultants: Parsons, Egis and SYSTRA. RMTC was awarded three of the six lines, representing 60% of the entire program, and is managing two major Design and Build (D&B) consortiums.

Having so many contractors involved to deliver this project required a high degree of collaboration and coordination throughout. Another key factor was stakeholder engagement, with the works affecting residential and commercial areas, as well as numerous governmental agencies. We also had to coordinate operations with the existing bus transit system which was being integrated with the rail network.

Services Provided

As the lead for all program and construction management services, we fill the key service positions of project director, finance manager, and HSE manager. Additionally, we also lead the project controls teams and are primarily responsible for finance, project controls, safety, and quality. We also provided the following services:

• Program and project management
• Safety management
• Design management
• Construction management
• Cost management and cost estimating
• Schedule management
• Integration and interface management
• Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC)
• Sustainability management
• Stakeholder management
• Risk management
• HR management
• Materials and resources management
• Documentations management
• Contracts management and administration
• Engineer of Record (EoR): Packages 1 & 2
• Engineering review
• Inspection and supervision
• HSE oversight
• Advisory and admin services

Sustainability In Action

The project adopted several sustainable measures that allowed for a reduction in energy consumption such as adopting on-site generated energy from photovoltaic cells, energy-efficient equipment, LED lighting fixtures, and occupancy and presence sensors. There is also a reduction in water use including collected/treated on-site gray water, treated sewage effluent, water-efficient fixtures, and efficient irrigation systems along the metro corridor and others.

The completed project will have a considerable reduction in carbon emissions by providing a sustainable means of transportation that aims to reduce citizens’ and residents’ dependence on vehicles. The project is considering an urban development that promotes shading using trees and artificial shading devices and adaptive and native plants along the metro corridor, taking into consideration the solar reflectance index (SRI) value in the selection of pavers, underground parking areas, and more.

The designs developed for the four iconic stations require meeting, at a minimum, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification standards. Overall, the project has taken the life-cycle design approach: plan, design, and construct the project using materials that are local, recyclable, and nonpolluting, such as using an ecological wall instead of concrete retaining walls in the depot area.

Implementation Of Junior Engineer Education Program (JEEP)

We are committed to developing the careers of young people in every country we operate. To underscore this commitment, we initiated the Junior Engineer Education Program (JEEP) which focuses on developing Saudi graduates. JEEP is a structured program that combines formal training with on-the-job experience. Working directly with the project team offers the graduates the unique opportunity to be a part of a historical mega construction rail project, and to work with and learn from leading industry experts. The experience gained will enable them to become competent engineers and will help develop a valuable engineering talent pool in KSA.