The tunnel excavation work along Line 3 of Riyadh Metro, the longest line of the massive project commissioned by the ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA) and realized by Salini Impregilo, has been completed.
The end of the work was celebrated in the presence of Riyadh Governor HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud at the Qasr Al Hoqm Downtown StationThe Governor was accompanied by Civil Service Minister HE Khaled Abdullah Al-Araj, Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister HE Abdul Lateef Al-Asheikh, Transport Minister HE Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Head of Public Transport Authority HE Rumaih Mohammed Al-Rumaih, National Water Company CEO HE Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Ibrahim and Riyadh Mayor and ADA President HE Ibrahim bin Mohammad Al-Sultan.
Also known as the Orange Line, Line 3 is more than 40 kilometres long, but only about 11 kilometres will be underground, excavated by the TBM and the “cut and cover” method. Once completed, it will have 22 stations.
Located near the Riyadh governor’s palace in the heart of the city, the Downtown Station will be one of the iconic stations, with two underground metro lines passing through it. Covering 20,000 square metres, it was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta together with One Works and Crew. Its entrance will be covered by a massive inverted cone made of stainless steel that will provide shade for passengers and channel sunlight into the underground station.
Salini Impregilo leads the ArRiyadh New Mobility (ANM) consortium, one of three involved in the $23-billion, six-line Riyadh Metro project that will cover 176 kilometres. The metro system will reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in a city whose population is expected to rise from 6.5 million today to 8.3 million by 2030.
