The region has yet to see a “glut” in skilled people who can work on the design and build of metros, despite the number of rail projects planned or underway in the Middle East.

Speaking to MEED, Neil Reynolds, senior vice-president and managing director at CH2M Hill in the Middle East, said the metro projects are a challenge that is attracting skilled people.

“The single biggest market as we see, is freight rail and metro. So far we’re not seeing a glut in talent,” said Reynolds.

He said there were challenges on the Riyadh Metro, on which CH2M Hill is a programme manager.

“We’re seeing some challenges there in terms of mobilising people into Saudi Arabia. May be that will become less, I think if there is a downturn somewhere else in the economy, Saudi Arabia could benefit from that also.”

Along with the Riyadh Metro, Reynolds also discussed other major projects the company is managing, including the World Cup stadiums, Dubai Expo 2020, the Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (Step) in Abu Dhabi and Inner Doha Resewerage Implementation Strategy (Idris) in Qatar.