Elevator firm Kone wins order for Riyadh Metro

Finnish elevator firm Kone has been awarded the order to supply 418 elevators and escalators for the Riyadh metro project, it revealed on Monday.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Under the deal, commissioned by the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), Kone will provide the equipment for Riyadh Metro’s line 3  – the longest out of the six lines in the project.

The line stretches along 41km, spread across 22 stations.

The order will comprise 262 escalators and 156 elevators of which 96 will be scenic, a statement said. The solutions will be equipped with Kone E-Link monitoring systems.

The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the line is expected to be in operation by the end of 2019.

“Riyadh is at the center of fast-paced infrastructure developments with the city’s metro being one of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects,” said Pierre Liautaud, executive vice president for Kone South Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Also read: Kone To Provide “World’s Fastest” Elevators For Saudi’s Kingdom Tower

The $23bn Riyadh Metro project, scheduled to be completed by 2019, hopes to transport up to three million passengers and serve as the backbone of the public transport system in the Saudi capital city.

With six lines – totalling an approximate length of 176km – and 85 stations, the metro network will cover the most densely populated areas of Riyadh, including the King Khalid International Airport, King Abdullah Financial District and major educational, commercial and medical institutions.

In February, officials from ADA confirmed the project was 48 per cent complete and on track to begin operations in 2019.

The project’s 190 driverless trains are being manufactured by Germany’s Siemens, French firm Alstom and Bombardier of Canada.

In December last year, ADA also awarded the material testing contract for the Riyadh Metro project lines 1 and 2 to construction consultancy Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS).

Read more: Riyadh Metro awards materials testing contract for two lines