Kafd monorail in Riyadh to commence operations in 2027
25 August 2025
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Financial District Development & Management Company (Kafd DMC) is expected to begin monorail operations in 2027.
According to local media reports, Faddy Alaql, chief asset delivery officer at Kafd, said construction is anticipated to begin by the end of this year, with the project ready for commissioning by 2027.
The scope of work includes the construction of a 3.6-kilometre elevated monorail in a loop configuration, with six elevated stations and six trains – each consisting of two carriages.
The monorail will connect public buildings within Kafd and integrate with the Riyadh Metro system.
It is expected to carry up to 3,500 passengers an hour during peak times.
In October last year, MEED exclusively reported that Kafd DMC had awarded an estimated SR1.2bn ($320m) deal to complete its monorail project at Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District.
The contract was awarded to the joint venture of Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam and Chinese rolling stock provider CRRC.
French engineering firm Systra is understood to have updated the technical and supervision studies for both systems and civil engineering works.
Project background
According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the scheme was put on hold in 2016 after a decade of planning.
In 2010, Bombardier, now part of French firm Alstom, won a $241m contract to build the monorail.
Bombardier, in partnership with local contractor Saudi Oger, was selected to provide its Innovia operation and maintenance services for the system over a 10-year period.
Located in Riyadh, Kafd is a mixed-use development managed by Kafd DMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The district was previously managed by Rayadah Investment Corporation.
Construction contracts for several towers in the district were awarded in 2009.
The project stalled when work was approximately 70% complete and later resumed in 2018, after the PIF took over from the Public Pension Agency in 2016-17.
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