Source: Arab News

DUBAI: An SR62 billion ($16.5 billion) metro railway project planned for Makkah is progressing well and there is no delay, said Ali Abdelfattah, chief executive-designate of the Makkah’s Mass Rail Transit (MMRT).

Earlier Reuters quoted him as saying that the project had been delayed so that its financing can be restructured.

He reportedly told a construction industry conference in Dubai: “The reason for the delay is some restructuring financially.”

He said that while work on privately funded schemes was largely unaffected in Saudi Arabia, all government-funded projects were going through some sort of restructuring or replanning.

New budgeting constraints have caused changes to the Makkah plan such as modifications to the design of the metro stations, Abdelfattah said.

Later, speaking to Al Arabiya television, Abdelfattah said: “Of course I deny completely what was said and all that was written and the hashtags and the WhatsApp, none of which is correct.” He added: “My remarks were recorded at the conference and this was a technical conference, not a political conference.”

Abdelfattah didn’t comment further when contacted by Reuters.

Reference

Source: Wikipedia

The Mecca Metro or Makkah Metro is a planned four-line metro system for the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia owned by Makkah Mass Rail Transit Company MMRTC). The metro forms part of the 62bn riyal Makkah Public Transport Programme (MPTP), which will include integrated bus services.^[1][3][4]

The four new metro lines will be in addition to^[4] the existing Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro Southern Line (MMMSL): 18.1 km, connecting Makkah, Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina opened in November 2010 which only operates during the Hajj.^{[5] [6]}

Planning

In August 2012 it was announced that the Saudi government had approved US$16.5 billion to build the four metro lines (182-kilometer (113 mi) long) of the system.^[7] The announcement of government financing said that the expansion would take 10 years. Invitation for tenders were due to be issued in January 2013.^[8]

Four new lines are to be built.^[9] Work had been expected to commence construction in 2015:^[1]

• Line  A : will connect Makkah to large multilevel parking facilities from the west to the south.
• Line  B  : is a straight link between Mina and Makkah.
• Line  C  : will connect Mina to the west side of Makkah through a big loop to the north.
• Line  D  : circles Makkah with a straight extension to the north. ^[6]

Work on the 188-kilometer (117 mi) long metro network is now expected to commence in 2016.^[2]

MMRTC has appointed Prasarana Malaysia to provide consultancy services during Phase 1, which covers the construction of two metro lines totalling 45·1 km and 22 stations by 2019.^[3]