The new project consultant will look into this proposal,” said H E Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salim al Futaisi, Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) while addressing a gathering at an Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry event recently.

“As per the new proposal, the Salalah port will be linked to Buraimi via Duqm port, Ibri in Dhahirah governorate and Sinaw in the wilayat of Mudhaibi and the rail line will bypass Muscat and Batinah governorates,” he said. “This is expected to reduce project cost as the path does not traverse through mountainous areas.”

The other proposal is to go ahead with the original plan of connecting Buraimi and Salalah port via Sohar port, Muscat and Duqm port. “Now, the consultant’s job is to find out the commercial viability of each plan,” H E Dr Futaisi said.

He said that studies have found that trucks and trailers are the best means of transporting goods within a distance of 200km, while freight rail network is economically viable for transporting over longer distances.

“If we go ahead with the original plan, we might start a passenger train service between Muscat and Sohar due to the area’s high population density and the distance of more than 200km separating the two cities,” he said. “The project will complement road transportation network by linking Sohar, Duqm and Salalah ports as well as important mining areas.”

He said that studies have found that including Salalah port in the freight rail network will boost revenues due to the port’s strategic location. The project will be a catalyst for the country’s all-round economic development. “It will create alternative means to transport goods to several parts of the country. We have started studying the business value of the project.”

He said that the focus is on freight rather than passenger traffic due to the country’s low population density. “For the project to be commercially viable, we need a certain number of passengers using the network daily.

“Citizens across the GCC use personal vehicles for daily use, which might make a passenger rail network commercially unviable. The rail project will boost revenue by transporting cargo and goods.”

While the contractors working on the Riyadh and Doha metros may be facing unknown risks, the benefits make them worthwhile

Construction is very different from manufacturing. Instead of striving for perfection through repetition, it involves a team of people who have never worked together before making something that has never been built before. Construction is inherently risky and the bigger the project is, the bigger the risks are.

The Riyadh Metro and Doha Metro are two of the region’s biggest schemes. In Riyadh, contractors will build 176 kilometres of metro lines within five years – an undertaking that even seasoned metro builders say has never been taken on before. The Doha Metro also involves the construction of multiple tracks. Both schemes face a multitude of challenges ranging from land acquisition to traffic management and manpower to financing.

While these risks may be new for local players that have had few opportunities to work on metro projects in the region, they are familiar ones for international construction companies. These firms were prepared to compete aggressively for work on both metro schemes since other markets, most notably southern Europe, have offered few major opportunities for contractors in recent years.

With the majority of the metro work now awarded, the focus will shift to delivery and the consortiums that won the contracts will find out exactly how accurate their predictions were as they discover the amount of risk involved in building metros in cities such as Riyadh and Doha.

However, with risk comes reward. The multibillion-dollar deals will generate significant cash flows for work-hungry contractors and will create thousands of job opportunities for construction professionals and close to 100,000 jobs for labourers in both cities.

More importantly, the two schemes will transform two of the region’s capital cities into modern metropolises, and for the residents of Riyadh and Doha, that is the greatest reward of all.

© Meed, August 2013

Since the Dubai Metro was launched in 2009, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Algeria have also stepped up their efforts to build metro rail systems. The list includes four-line metro projects in Doha and Kuwait, a metro network in Cairo and three extensions on the existing Algiers metro.

In July 2013, Qatar Rail, in association with Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and a global consultant, announced that it has identified around 104 metro-related opportunities for the local private sector. Mass transit projects promote mobility and encourage population redistribution, construction of new districts, creation of employment opportunities, and development of railway supply industries in surrounding areas, according to industry experts.

SAUDI’S METRO DREAMS

In Saudi Arabia, the government has embarked on a USD 22.5 billion plan to build Riyadh’s first metro rail system, which a Reuters report said aims to achieve more than improving the quality of life in the congested capital.

“It is part of an ambitious effort to shift the country’s economy beyond oil. The metro systems may also help Saudi Arabia manage its oil resources more efficiently – only about 2% of Riyadh’s 6 million population currently use public transport, leaving most of the rest dependent on gasoline-guzzling cars,” the report noted.

In the last week of July, the government awarded contracts for the system to three foreign-led consortia. Six rail lines carrying electric, driverless trains and extending 176 kilometers (110 miles) are to be completed by 2019.

Similar projects are underway in other major Saudi cities. Last August, the government approved a USD 16.5 billion plan to modernize the transport system in Makkah, including construction of a metro. Jeddah is also planning to build a metro that would cost around USD 9.3 billion.

“Growth in domestic oil consumption, as the country’s young population expands, has been outpacing [gains] in oil production capacity. So over the next decade or two, Saudi Arabia could be forced to cut back its oil exports; the metro systems buy it time before it faces such a crunch,” said the report.

The Riyadh metro is projected to carry 1.16 million passengers daily when launched, increasing to nearly 3.6 million within 10 years – a significant fraction of all trips in the country, which currently has a population of 28 million. Properties at 32 sites will be acquired for the Riyadh Metro project, said Ibrahim Al-Sultan, president of Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), in July. “We have set up a special committee at ADA for land acquisition.”

Dr. Abdel Fattah Toukan, partner and vice-president of BKCN Engineering in Canada, also foresees the rail projects in Saudi to enrich the lands around the railway boundaries, facilitate commercial activities and link cities to markets, serve pilgrims and enhance religious tourism.

Besides the metro, Saudi also has other major rail infrastructure projects in the pipeline such as the Mineral Railway, Saudi Land Bridge and the Makkah-Madinah high speed line, Toukan added. Future projects could also look into developing infrastructure that supports the movement of oil commodities within the region, but such railway projects “should be in parallel with a water channel that links the Gulf Sea with the Red Sea and a major pipeline project for crude oil transportation,” he commented.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Aghdam said that sustainability concerns could result to some projects being implemented at a later date so that developers may be able to deal with the supply and demand constraints.

Meanwhile, Manda of Frost & Sullivan said the region will face huge challenges in finding specialists and experienced staff as there are more announcements than actual construction. “We expect to see some movement on the Abu Dhabi Metro project, which is in the advanced planning stage. Egypt is still in troubled mode. We are optimistic about some visible growth in the latter part of 2014 within the metro and rail sector, where growth can be measured in terms of construction timeline,” he said.

Toukan said the expected infrastructure growth in the region also needs solutions such as greater government responsibilities and engagement, changes in law and regulations as well as international funding.

“Demand will outstrip supply within the next 20 years as the region will need metros and high speed trains for expanding cities,” he said. “Overall, the growth of rail supply market will continue well through 2015-2017 based on a generally favorable environment for rail combined with the high growth rates in MENA and the high oil prices. Within the [next] three years, the region will be a hub for rail professionals, financial institutions, bankers, business development companies, contractors and consultants competing with best technical and financial offers and maintenance programs.”

Detailed planning is also critical and the integrated transportation solutions should be specific and timely, added Aghdam. “This will need sufficient number of experienced staff (from the clients and the consultants) to work and develop strategically and tactically the roadmap for the development, planning and implementation of metro programs,” he said.

“The transportation solutions should reach out and provide the services to the public, which it intends to serve. It requires the understanding of the longer-term needs, anticipation for change and response to the change at the appropriate time.”

The contract includes the design and construction of lines 4 (orange), 5 (yellow) and 6 (purple), which will have 25 stations. Construction will include 64.6km of rail track: 29.8km of viaducts, 26.6km of underground track, and 8.2km of overground track.
The FCC contract is worth €6.070bn ($8.05bn), and is the largest international contract in the history of construction in which a Spanish company has been awarded a contract. FCC’s main consortium partners are Korean company Samsung and French company Alstom. The other members are Strukton (The Netherlands), Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Typsa (Spain) and Setec (France). The project is to be executed in five years, and will employ 15,000 people.

Juan Béjar, Vice-President and CEO of FCC, said: “The Riyadh metro contract consolidates Spanish companies’ international reputation in global civil engineering projects. FCC’s references were instrumental in our successful bid for this project. The Riyadh metro contract dovetails perfectly with FCC’s new international strategy in construction, which is focused on infrastructure and on countries where we can best leverage our capabilities.”
The Riyadh metro is one of the largest public works projects in the world at present. The process commenced in July 2012, when 37 consortia comprising world leaders in construction, rolling stock and railway systems presented expressions of interest. Only four of these candidates were pre-qualified: those headed by Siemens with Vinci, Bombardier with OHL, and Ansaldo with Strabag.

The consortium headed by FCC will use three tunnel boring machines (TBM) to build tunnels almost 10 metres in diameter for the three lines. These lines will use two-car conductorless trainsets supplied by Alstom. There will be four types of stations: elevated, ground level, underground and intermodal to connect with different lines.

The largest subway project in the world
The six lines comprising the Riyadh metro project will span more than 176km, making it the largest metro under development in the world at present.
Construction will require 600,000 tonnes of steel (80 times the amount used to build the Eiffel Tower) and 4.3 million cubic metres of concrete (11 times the amount used for Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper), and will employ over 30,000 workers, of which more than half correspond to the consortium led by FCC.

This new metro will transform Riyadh, reducing traffic congestion, strengthening and driving the Saudi economy and improving living standards for citizens.

Riyadh currently has a population of 5.7 million, which is expected to increase to 8.3 million by 2030. The subway is a solution to daily traffic problems: of 7.4 million daily commutes; only 2 per cent use public transport.

n recent years, the Dammam and Khobar urban area has seen a significant growth and now has approximately 2 million people. Increasing use of private cars has led to traffic jams throughout the day, and at current growth rates, experts are forecasting gridlock across the Dammam urban road network within a few years.

ENCOURAGE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Undersecretary for Transport Affairs, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Ohaly said: “In order to improve mobility and to alleviate urban congestion, reduce noise and air pollution we realise that we need to encourage people to use public transport.”

Nils den Hartog, Project manager for Royal HaskoningDHV said: “Public transport is currently almost non-existent in this car-dominated city where petrol costs no more than 15 cents per litre. A key challenge of this project will be the successful introduction of such a system.”

LIGHT RAIL AND BUSES

The project entails a feasibility study and preliminary design for a combination of 50 km of light rail, 110 km of bus rapid transit system and 350 km of feeder buses in Dammam Metropolitan Area including King Fahd International Airport.
The approach will be multidisciplinary and include public transport planning, infrastructure design, urban integration, operation planning, business case preparation, and procurement strategy.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture of local Engineering Consultant Mshari Al-Shathri and Royal HaskoningDHV through its Saudi Arabian branch office SADECO. The project team will work closely with both the Saudi Ministry of Transport and the Municipality of Dammam.

Deadline set for 15 September for rolling stock, depots and track work

Qatar Railways Company is set to tender for the project management consultancy services contract for systems, rolling stock, depots and track work for Doha Metro.

The tender is due to be floated on 28 July and the deadline for bids is set for 15 September. The contract is expected to be awarded in the first quarter of 2014.

The contract covers phase one of the Doha metro project, which covers 130 kilometres of metro line and 49 stations and includes the planned Red Line North, Red Line South, Gold Line, Green Line and an operational link between Red Line South and Gold line.

A total of QR30bn-worth ($11bn) civil works contracts were awarded for the first phase of Doha metro in May. Bids for the Golden Line are still under evaluation.

A shortlist of companies to provide the systems, rolling stock and track work has already been drawn up, with the award expected to be made in the second quarter of 2014.

The Preliminary Design consultant is responsible for the provisional design of the complete infrastructure and systems covering all segments of the 1,061-km railway project, thereby securing the basis of a completed, fully functional, operating railway and inter-operable with the GCC network.Also as part of its brief, the consultant will undertake the preliminary design of, among other things: the alignment, track works and infrastructure; civil works, tunnels and structures; systems, and; functional design/ specifications of rolling stock. As reported by the Observer earlier this week, the National Railway Project will be developed as part of an integrated end-to-end network traversing the length of the country with linkages to all of the major maritime hubs. Transport & Communications Minister Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi described the project as “one big, ambitious and complete” network extending from Buraimi and Sohar through to Duqm and Salalah. “We are determined to link our three major ports in the county — Sohar, Duqm and Salalah — with other GCC countries through this important project,” he noted. Bids for the equally important Project Management Consultancy contract are also due to be opened later this month.