Saudi Arabia reiterated its commitment to achieving its Vision 2030 goals when it launched the prequalification process in August for what, upon completion, Riyadh says will be the ‘world’s largest airport’.

The kingdom is also taking giant strides towards improving the traffic situation in the capital as it prepares to expand the Riyadh metro lines further and develop new roads. 

The moves are in line with Riyadh’s ambitions for infrastructure development, which aim to transform the kingdom’s economy and position it as a global hub for investment, tourism and innovation. Under Vision 2030, the country is undertaking a wide range of infrastructure projects that reflect its ambition to diversify its oil-dependent economy and improve the quality of life for its citizens, especially around the more established urban centres.

Airport ambitions 

The key to Riyadh’s success is developing infrastructure across the country. According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, there are $247bn-worth of active transport projects in Saudi Arabia.

Airports represent a significant subsector, accounting for $67bn of planned or underway projects, or about 27% of the transport total.

The largest upcoming airport project is the development of King Salman International airport, which will ultimately expand and replace the existing King Khaled International airport. Contractors are teaming up to deliver the airport’s main packages, aiming to accommodate up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050. For cargo, the goal is to process 3.5 million tonnes a year by 2050.

The other major airport project planned in the kingdom is the Abha International airport in the Asir province. In May, interested companies submitted their statements of qualifications for a contract to develop and operate a new passenger terminal building and related facilities at the airport. The project will be developed using a build-transfer-operate model.

Resurgence of rail

Rail projects have revived in the kingdom after a lull of several years. Rail accounts for about 30% of transport projects, with almost $75bn of active projects.

The most immediate of the upcoming rail schemes is the expansion of the Riyadh Metro scheme. It is understood that the bid evaluation has reached the final stages, and the contract will likely be awarded by the end of October. The Line 2 extension is 8.4 kilometres (km), of which 1.3km is elevated and 7.1km is underground. It includes five stations – two elevated and three underground.

The other significant project is adding Line 7 to the Riyadh Metro scheme. The tender for the main contract is in the market, and the project will likely be awarded by Q3 next year.

Nationally, the largest upcoming rail scheme is the long-awaited Saudi Landbridge project, which involves building railways to connect ports and industrial areas on the Red Sea coast in the west with Riyadh in the centre of the kingdom and the Gulf coast in the east.

Other rail projects planned include high-speed connections between Riyadh and other GCC capitals, including Doha and Kuwait City, urban rail projects in Riyadh and the Saudi sections of the GCC railway network.  

Roads development 

Expanding the Saudi road network is essential to completing the transport infrastructure rollout. The kingdom has $57bn of road projects under development, which accounts for about 23% of the transport total. 

Some of the major schemes under development are in Riyadh and are being undertaken by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC). The masterplan consists of developing 15 road schemes in the capital, four of which are in execution. 

These include the construction of phases two and three of the second southern ring road scheme. Earlier this year, RCRC awarded an estimated SR7.5bn ($2bn) of contracts to construct these projects.

The second project is the upgrade of the Wadi Laban cable bridge in Riyadh, for which the client awarded a SR4bn ($1bn) design-and-build contract earlier this year.

The third project involves developing the western part of the Al-Thumama Road Axis, which is 6km long and extends from King Khalid Road in the west to King Fahd Road in the east.

The fourth road project extends from Taif Road in the Laban neighbourhood to the Qiddiya project. The package has a total length of 16km.

Firms are also submitting bids for the contract to deliver the second section of the Al-Thumama Road development project in Riyadh, which stretches from Mohammed Bin Salman Road to Uthman Bin Affan Road and has a total length of 8.8km.

These schemes will provide vital links between the new and expanded airport and ports and the other projects under development in the kingdom.