Riyadh Metro – the Middle East’s largest infrastructure development in terms of size and scale – is currently awaiting formal inauguration, as global project and construction managers, contractors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and vendors, to name a few, bring to fruition one of the most iconic projects envisaged under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Vision 2030 plan.

The client, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), is creating a world-class public transport system in KSA’s capital city of Riyadh to meet the dual challenges posed by rapid urbanization and population growth.

According to the Arab News, by 2030, Riyadh’s population is predicted to reach 9.6 million. This increase by itself would result in a major rise in demand for transportation within the city.

As the backbone of this system, RCRC commissioned the construction of a six-line Metro covering most major areas of the city making it one of the largest and most ambitious civil engineering projects in the world.

Tight timescales and the significant scale of the works resulted in the client employing a design-build approach, with the planned mega-facilities divided into three packages: Package 1, comprising  Lines 1 and 2 was awarded to the BACS Consortium; Package 2 (Line 3) was awarded to the ANM Consortium; and Package 3 (Lines 4, 5, and 6) was assigned to the FAST Consortium. Each design-build contractor was responsible for the detailed design, construction, and commissioning of the stations, viaducts, tunnels, rail networks, controls system, depots, and other operational elements including the manufacture, furnishing, installation, testing, and commissioning of the rolling stock for each of the allotted lines.

To oversee and coordinate the design-builders, RCRC employed two project and construction management (PM/CM) consultants. They were: RMTC for Packages 1 and 2; and RAMPED for Package 3.

Details of Package 3, Contract Details

RAMPED is an acronym for the Riyadh Advanced Metro Project Execution and Delivery joint venture which comprises WSP (formerly Louis Berger) and Hill International.

Package 3 was executed by the FAST Consortium of companies, which was led by Spanish construction group FCC and included partners Samsung C&T, Alstom, Strukton, Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Atkins, Typsa, and Setec. The package consists of 67 KM (41 miles) of metro alignment including 27 stations. Line 4 is mostly aboveground from King Abdullah Financial District to King Khalid International Airport, while Line 5 is underground in a bored tunnel under King Abdulaziz Street, linking King Abdullah Road with the King Abdulaziz Historical Centre, and Line 6 is mostly aboveground from Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University to Abdulrahman ibn Awf Road in the As Saadah District.

RAMPED has been providing PM/CM Services on the Riyadh Metro Project, under two contracts, since its inception in August 2013. RAMPED’s scope of services includes:

• Receiving, reviewing, and commenting on all designs and specifications.
• Reviewing all documentation prepared by the design-builder to assess the overall design quality and consistency with the client’s required level of performance and standards.
• Project controls and review and endorsement of the design-builder’s scope, schedules, and milestones.
• Monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on progress against the design-builders’ schedule and deliverables.
• Advising the RCRC on any adverse trends and recommend corrective actions.
• Assessing periodic payments and making recommendations to RCRC regarding payments.
• Assessing, validating, and negotiating change.
• Design management, including ensuring design approval and engineering on the project is undertaken in compliance with the client’s requirements and the design management plan.
• Management of RCRC’s requirements against submissions.
• Reviewing and validating design and technical documents and review and validation of materials used on the project.
• Traffic management including reviewing and endorsing management plans.
• Auditing sites to ensure that the plans have been implemented as designed.
• Coordinating closely with the RCRC communications team to address concerns and complaints received from the public and other third parties.
• Discussing and agreeing on traffic plans with key stakeholders such as the RCRC and Traffic Police.
• For utilities and stakeholder management, RAMPED facilitated and supported the design-builder in obtaining approvals and permits from the utility providers and assisted overall coordination of utility groups.

Nearly a decade into its making, the Riyadh Metro project will go down in the history of Saudi Arabia as one of its finest and most ambitious infrastructure assets.

For Hill International, the success of RAMPED in taking the Riyadh Metro project Package 3 to the finish line will be yet another boost to its growing capabilities in the rail and transit sector globally.