A joint venture of US-based consultancy Louis Berger has been awarded a $265 million contract by the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) to provide project management and construction management services for the Riyadh Metro project.

The contract was awarded under the Riyadh Advanced Metro Project Execution and Delivery (RAMPED) joint venture, which Louis Berger is a 55 per cent majority partner and Hill International a 45 per cent partner.

As the intermediary between ADA and the design-build contractors, the joint venture will oversee design and construction deliverables through the project lifecycle for Package 3, which consists of three of six lines in the new Riyadh metro system.

The contract covers a five-year performance period and a 24-month defects liability period.

“Our team is privileged and honored to be selected for one of the largest and most ambitious transit programs to ever be conceived,” said Jim Stamatis, president of Louis Berger’s international operation.

“We look forward to playing a key role, in partnership with ADA, to deliver a transportation system that will support continued economic growth of Saudi Arabia’s capital city by improving traffic congestion.”

Package 3 includes Line 4, Line 5 and Line 6 and covers 67 kilometers of track with 48 kilometers of elevated alignment, 5.5 kilometers of mined tunnel, 22 stations and nearly 13 kilometers of bored tunnel constructed through some of the most congested districts in Riyadh.

The Line 4 links to the King Khalid International Airport with a mix of elevated and at-grade sections.

The Line 5 will run in a bored tunnel along King Abdulaziz Street, between King Abdulazziz Historical Centre and the Riyadh Airbase.

The Line 6 runs in a half-ring from King Abdullah Financial District, passing by Iman Mohamed Bin Saud University and ending at Prince Saad Ibn Abdulrahman Al Awal Road.

“We are extremely honored to be working with our partner Louis Berger to manage one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world on behalf of our client ADA,” said Raouf S Ghali, president of Hill’s Project Management Group (International).

“We have every confidence that the world-class team we have assembled will deliver a successful Metro system for the citizens of Riyadh.”

Louis Berger is a globally-recognized provider of engineering, development and management support services for public and private clients. The firm has worked in the Middle East, North Africa, and northern Mediterranean Sea border countries for more than 30 years, with offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. – TradeArabia News Service