Saudi Arabia’s Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) is expected to award the contracts to operate and maintain (O&M) Riyadh Metro’s six lines soon, according to Laurence Batlle, president of French firm RATP Dev.

“They will definitely award [contract] this year, perhaps over the coming weeks or few months,” Batlle tells MEED.

It is understood that RATP Dev and Keolis, also of France, as well as Italy’s Ansaldo, now part of Japan’s Hitachi, were the frontrunners for the contracts, which were expected to be awarded in October last year, following the completion of the bids evaluation process.

MEED earlier reported the contract awards have been delayed due to some changes required by the ADA.

ADA received the initial round of submissions for the contracts in December 2016. Final submissions were received in May last year.

Results of the bid evaluation process were understood to have been forwarded in July last year to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, whose final approval is required before the contracts are awarded.

One of the bidders, UK-based Serco Group, pulled out of the tender last year citing “longer than anticipated tendering process”.

ADA has said it is likely to select two or three firms to operate and maintain Riyadh Metro’s six lines.

Three Riyadh Metro packages, collectively worth $23bn, were awarded to separate consortiums in 2013.

Construction works on the metro are expected to be completed in late 2019.

The metro network will be 176.5 kilometres long, inclusive of 7.8km of 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.

In December last year, the RKH Qitarat consortium comprising RATP Dev and Keolis, along with the local Hamad Group, won the €3bn ($3.7bn) contract to operate and maintain the first phase of the Doha metro and Lusail tram for 20 years.