The Royal Commission for Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia has officially received the highly anticipated bidding documents for the design and construction of Riyadh Metro Line 7. Four consortiums led by international rail transit giants participated in the competition, among which the consortium composed of CRRC and Türkiye enterprises appeared again, marking a new prelude for Chinese enterprises to continue to deepen their efforts in the high-end infrastructure market in the Middle East and to compete comprehensively in technical strength.

Connecting the arteries of the future

The Riyadh Metro Line 7 is a key urban transportation project under the framework of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030". The total length of the line is about 65 kilometers, including 47 kilometers of underground tunnels and 19 kilometers of elevated lines, with a total of 19 stations. It will connect multiple large urban development nodes such as Qidia Entertainment City, King Abdullah International Garden, King Salman Park, Misk City, and Diriyah Gate, becoming an important infrastructure to support Riyadh's future urban expansion and improve the level of public transportation services.

The four major consortia each showcase their strengths

This bidding has attracted fierce competition from top global enterprises, forming a clear competitive landscape. Alstom, a French company, collaborates with local enterprises in Italy and Saudi Arabia, leveraging its existing performance and technological advantages in the Middle East region. Siemens Mobility in Germany has also partnered with partners in Spain and Saudi Arabia to emphasize technology inheritance and localized delivery capabilities. Hitachi Railway has joined hands with Indian, Saudi and Türkiye enterprises to highlight its expertise in large-scale project management and operational reliability. The consortium formed by CRRC and Türkiye Mapa and Limak aims to integrate China's advanced capabilities in rail transit vehicle manufacturing and system integration, and form a unique competitive combination with Türkiye's contractors' rich construction experience and localization advantages in the Middle East market. Keywords: traffic news and information, latest traffic news

The deep involvement of Chinese power

This bidding is not only a commercial competition for a large-scale infrastructure project, but also reflects the evolution of the global rail transit market pattern. China CRRC's leading participation in the core subway project in Saudi Arabia is an important manifestation of the combination of China's high-end equipment manufacturing and world-class engineering capabilities, as well as the active expansion of the Middle East market. Faced with competition from traditional European giants such as Alstom and Siemens, the participation of the China Turkey consortium highlights the competitiveness of the "technology+localization" cooperation model in complex international markets. The final outcome of the project will have a profound impact on the order allocation, technology route selection, and industrial cooperation mode of the future rail transit market in the Middle East and even globally. It is also a key observation window in the process of China's manufacturing to China's creation and China's cooperation transformation.Editor/Gao Xue