US$3.46bn contracts awarded for developing road network in Riyadh

RIYADH: Four road development contracts totaling SR13 billion (US$3.46 billion) have been given out by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) as part of the program’s initial phase to improve the capital city’s transportation system, local media reported.

The commission’s Board of Directors said that the program’s initial phase intends to build the main and ring roads’ axes and connect them in order to offer the city’s residents sustainable transportation and logistics services.

In accordance with Vision 2030’s goals, it was stated that the road initiative will establish Riyadh as one of the major global cities and position it as a significant hub for the Middle East’s sustainable logistics and transportation services.

The RCRC said that contract awards for the program’s latter phases will be made public in the near future.

The first phase included construction of the second southern ring road, which will run 56 kilometers from the Jeddah Road in the west to the new Al-Kharj route in the east. The route will include three lanes for the service road and four lanes for the main road in each direction.

Constructing two bridges parallel to the Wadi Laban Suspension Bridge and expanding the four-kilometer-long intersection between the western ring road and Jeddah Road.

Another component of the first phase included the six-kilometer project that will construct the western portion of the Al-Thumama Road Axis, which runs from King Khalid Road in the west to King Fahd Road in the east.

A project to build a 16-kilometer extension of Taif Road from the Laban area to the Qiddiya project is also part of the first phase.