Saudi Arabia's first urban railway, constructed by Samsung C&T, began normal operations on the 1st (local time).
Samsung C&T announced that on the 27th of last month, an opening ceremony for all six lines was held at the Riyadh Royal Palace. The event was attended by members of the Saudi royal family and senior officials from the Riyadh Royal Commission (RCRC), the client. Notably, King Salman bin Abdulaziz personally declared the opening of the urban railway.
This urban railway is the first public transportation facility in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is the world's largest infrastructure project with a total length of 176 km. Among the six lines, Lines 1, 4, and 6 began full operation on this day, Lines 2 and 5 will start phased operations on the 15th, and Line 3 is scheduled to begin phased operations on January 5 of next year.
Samsung C&T formed a consortium with Spanish construction company FCC and others to construct Lines 4 to 6. These lines cross key areas of Riyadh, including King Khalid International Airport and King Abdullah Financial District, with a total length of 70 km. The project included the construction of 29 stations and 24 km of bridge sections.
Advanced technologies possessed by Samsung C&T were employed in this urban railway. The bridge deck panel prefabrication and installation method (FSLM) was applied, where bridge deck panels were pre-manufactured in factories and installed on-site, shortening the construction period. During the construction of Line 5, two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) with a diameter of 9.8 m were used, achieving a world record for daily excavation length. An unmanned operation system was also introduced, and all urban railway lines are planned to operate automatically.
The King of Saudi Arabia is personally declaring the opening of the Riyadh Metro. (Provided by Samsung C&T)
Based on this experience, Samsung C&T plans to expand its business portfolio through various projects such as infrastructure and power plants in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and other countries.
Choi Young-hoon, Vice President of Riyadh Metro at Samsung C&T, said, "It is very meaningful to have directly constructed Saudi Arabia's first urban railway project, the world's largest scale." He added, "Although there were many challenges during the construction period, we were able to successfully complete the Riyadh Metro thanks to Samsung C&T's high construction technology and know-how."
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