The Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) has moved the submission date for offers for the contract to operate and maintain (O&M) the Riyadh Metro to 15 December.

The original date of submission of offers was in mid-October.

Additional time was needed for the prequalified bidders to secure information from the metro’s system providers, which will be incorporated into their offers, MEED was told.

Prequalified firms for the contract are understood to include:

• SMRT (Singapore)
• Serco (UK)
• Korail (South Korea)
• RATP (France)
• Keolis (France)
• Ansaldo / Hitachi (Italy/Japan)
• QDVC (Qatar)

It is probable that ADA will select two or three O&M firms to operate and maintain the six lines, a source familiar with the project earlier told MEED.

In March, Alwalid Alekrish, director of construction development projects and project director of the Riyadh Metro at the ADA, said the O&M deal is likely to be awarded in 2017.

Most rail experts have recommended incorporating input from operators as early as possible into the design and construction phase of a rail project to boost efficiency and minimise potential retrofits once the infrastructure is completed.

The three Riyadh Metro packages were awarded to separate consortiums in 2013, with 2018 set as the target completion date for all lines at the time. A 12-month delay has been anticipated, with 2019 set as the new target completion date.

Alekrish has confirmed that the $23bn project is on track to be completed in 2019, stating that “the metro is being paid for directly from ring-fenced government funds and as such there is no specific debt or borrowings”.

This implies the metro project will be largely unaffected by the ongoing clamp down on government spending in light of lower oil prices.

The completed metro network will be 176.5 kilometres long (7.8km as a common section for Line 4 and Line 6), with underground, elevated and at-grade sections. It will have a total of 85 stations and 25 park-and-ride locations.