Riyadh Royal Commission awards metro Line 2 extension
18 July 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has awarded an estimated $800m-$900m contract to build the next phase of the Riyadh Metro project, which is the Line 2 extension.
The contract was awarded to the Arriyadh New Mobility Consortium.
The Line 2 extension is 8.4 kilometres (km) long, of which 1.3km is elevated and 7.1km is underground. It includes five stations – two elevated and three underground.
It will run from where Line 2 currently ends at King Saud University (KSU) and then travel onwards to new stations at KSU Medical City, KSU West, Diriyah East, Diriyah Central, where it interchanges with the planned Line 7, and then finally to Diriyah South.
According to the consortium’s official website, the consortium members include Italy’s Webuild, India’s Larsen & Toubro, locally based Nesma & Partners, Japan’s Hitachi, Italy’s Ansaldo STS, the Canadian firm Bombardier, Spain’s Idom and WorleyParsons from Australia.
In 2013, the Arriyadh New Mobility Consortium secured Riyadh Metro’s Line 3 project for $5.21bn.
Line 3, also known as the Orange Line, stretches from east to west, from Jeddah Road to the Second Eastern Ring Road, covering a total distance of 41km.
Riyadh Metro
Riyadh Metro’s first phase features six lines with 84 stations.
The RCRC completed the phased rollout of the Riyadh Metro network when it started operating the Orange Line on 5 January.
In December last year, the RCRC started operating the Red Line and Green Line.
The Red Line, also known as Line 2, stretches 25.1km from the east of Riyadh to the west, via King Abdullah Road, connecting King Fahd Sports City and King Saud University. It has a total of 15 stations.
The Green Line, also known as Line 5, extends 13.3km from King Abdullah Road to the National Museum. With 12 stations, it serves several ministries and government agencies, including the Defence Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, as well as other areas.
Earlier in December, the RCRC started operating the Blue Line (Line 1), Yellow Line (Line 4) and Purple Line (Line 6).
The Blue Line connects Olaya Street to Batha; the Yellow Line runs along King Khalid International Airport Road; while the Purple Line connects Abdul Rahman Bin Awf Road with Al-Sheikh Hassan Bin Hussain Road.
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurated the Riyadh Metro on 27 November last year.
The network spans 176km. Four of the stations have been designed by signature architects.
The metro is part of the Riyadh Public Transport Project, which encompasses metro and bus systems. The project aims to relieve traffic congestion.
The $23bn project was scheduled to open in 2018, but construction activity slowed due to disputes over prolongation and the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The RCRC awarded the main construction packages for the scheme on 28 July 2013.
In November 2022, the RCRC struck a deal with three contracting consortiums working on the Riyadh Metro scheme regarding the completion of the project’s remaining works.
The Fast consortium won lines 4, 5 and 6, reportedly valued at $7.82bn. The Bacs consortium was awarded lines 1 and 2 for $9.45bn, while Arriyadh New Mobility secured Line 3 for $5.21bn.
US firm Bechtel leads the Bacs consortium. Italian firm Ansaldo STS is the leader of the Arriyadh New Mobility group, and Spanish firm FCC Construccion heads the Fast consortium.
AtkinsRealis has delivered programme management and supervision services for the operations and maintenance of the Riyadh Metro scheme.
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Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has awarded an $855m contract to China’s Jereh Group for a project to develop facilities at the Rhourde Nouss gas field.
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Commentary
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EditorIt has been nearly two years since Saudi Arabia was selected as the host country for the World Expo 2030.
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Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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