Work on the $22.5-billion King Abdul Aziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport (KAPRPT) is progressing well with 45 per cent of the metro project already completed, said a report.

The mammoth project will see the Saudi government building 40 km of tunnels, 45 km of bridges and 16 km of surface tracks, reported Arab News, citing the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA).

Upon completion, the KAPRPT will include 756 metro cars, 85 stations, 3,853 bus stops and stations, 24 bus routes, a 1,150-km network, and 956 buses, stated the report.

It also includes the implementation of various components of tunnels, bridges and tracks on the ground, as well as the installation of steel bars on the Red Line, which includes the axis of King Abdullah Road, the Yellow Line axis through King Khaled International Airport, the Orange Line through Madinah Road, and the Blue Line with the axis of Olaya, Batha, and Al Hair roads, it said.

The project - which was scheduled to be finished in less than five years - will place the Saudi capital on par with the world’s modern cities in advanced countries whose railway projects have played a key role in industrialisation and modernisation, it added.