Saudi Arabia’s Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) has selected two teams for the project management consultancy (PMC) contract of the construction of the six-line Riyadh Metro.

A consortium comprising the US’ Parsons International and France’s Egis and Systra will project manage two packages covering Lines 1, 2 and 3 of the scheme. 

A joint venture between US firms Louis Berger and Hill International will manage the package covering Lines 4, 5 and 6.

Contracts are due to be finalised in a few weeks, according to the Riyadh authorities.

The selection of PMC contractors follows the award of $22bn-worth of design-and-build contracts in late July. The consortium known as BACS, led by US firm Bechtel, won the deal for Lines 1 and 2. Italy’s Ansaldo STS led the Arriyadh New Mobility group for Line 3. Spain’s FCC Construccion led the FAST consortium to win work on Lines 4, 5 and 6.

The Riyadh Metro network will cover a total length of 176 kilometres and will feature 85 air-conditioned stations. It is expected to be operational by 2019.

The metro scheme is part of Riyadh’s Public Transport Project (PTP) plan, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2012.

The Riyadh Metro is driving investment in other metro and light rail systems across Saudi Arabia. Jeddah, Dammam, Mecca and Medina are now developing their own metro or rail networks.