Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bander rides a rail carriage during his inspection tour of Riyadh Metro.

Seventy-four percent of the main stations of Riyadh Metro are complete.

Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bander said that the difficult stages in the project have been overcome and work done can now be seen on the surface.

He was speaking 30 meters below ground during a fact-finding visit to the project on Thursday. He said the project will be finished in the time allocated and what has been completed until now amounts to 26 percent.

The prince said the number of those working on the project will increase in the coming days according to its needs as there are currently 31,000 workers, including 7,000 engineers and administrators. He added this proves the project is moving according to plan and is in line with the development plan of the capital. Prince Faisal thanked the people of Riyadh for their patience in the work stages of the project.

The Green Line has five stations including stations near the King Salman Airbase; the station of the headquarters of the Saudi Royal Air Force; the one next the General Social Insurance Organization; the station next to the officers’ neighborhood; and the station near the Defense Ministry.

The prince looked at all aspects of the project, including the digging machine which continues to unearth the southern part of the tunnel under the King Abdulaziz Highway, whose length is 12.9 km and links the King Abdullah Highway in the north of the city to the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in the middle.

The project represents 170 locations of the rail network around the city, in addition to tunnels and overland rail which extends to 13 km on the Green Line on the axis of the King Abdulaziz Highway; the Blue Line on the axis of the Olia-Batha Street; the Yellow Line to the King Khaled International Airport; and the Orange Line on the Madinah Highway.

Bridges are being constructed on lines in 11 locations across the city including the Al-Azizyah neighborhood with a focus on Olia-Batha Street; Prince Saud bin Mohammad Highway and west of Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University on the axis of the Khaled International Airport; and Sheikh Hussein bin Ali in east Riyadh, at the King Abdullah Highway at its eastern junction; and the western part on the Madinah Highway and the Jeddah Highway to King Fahd Highway.

The project is going full speed ahead in the execution of construction for the principle track and 85 branch stations. These include the Qaser Al-Hakum station in the King Abdullah Financial Center, the western station, and the Fifth Hall Station at the King Khaled International Airport.

This is in addition to the building of the operations and control center, overnight shelters, maintenance for every line, transfer services and construction for electrical generation stations.

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