A consortium of leading international engineering groups Egis and Systra has been awarded a contract by Saudi authorities to carry out the design studies of the proposed 95km three-line metro network in Madinah.

The contract relates to three lines (green, blue, red) stretching a total of 95 km, including 25 km underground and 48 km overhead, said a statement from Egis, a French engineering group involved in the areas of infrastructure and transport systems, planning, water and environment.

The project is part of an ambitious plan initiated over the past few years by Saudi Arabia to develop and modernise its transport infrastructure. As the second holiest city in the country, Madinah has to deal with an influx of several million pilgrims each year, it stated.

As per the contract, the duo will carry out the feasibility studies and the preliminary design for the metro, including the preparation of invitation to tender documentation for “Design and Build” contracts, said the French group.

Over a 12-month period, the project team based in Madinah will draw on all of Egis’ expertise required for this huge project: civil engineering, architecture, environment, rolling stock, signalling, telecoms and operating strategy, it stated.

Commenting on the win, Egis said the contract comes as a complementary addition to the metro services provided currently by Egis in the Middle East in the fields of project management and works supervision contracts.

Since 2013, Egis has been in charge of the project management and construction supervision of three lines of the future Riyadh metro, in partnership with Systra and the American firm Parsons.

The metro is due to enter into service in 2020, with the project divided up into two distinct phases, it added.

Egis is also active in Qatar on the project management of the Doha metro (civil engineering of its yellow line, civil engineering and equipment of Musheireb and Education City stations), and more recently on the project management of the overhead and ground-level sections of the Doha metro.-TradeArabia News Service