150 properties in Jeddah to be acquired for metro

JEDDAH: A total of 150 properties will be acquired at an estimated cost of SR45 billion for the Jeddah Metro project, the design of which is scheduled to be ready by next month, an official of the Jeddah Metro Company has said.

“The project will be implemented in the middle of 2016 and work will start on the Ubhur suspended bridge, which will have eight lanes for 6,000 vehicles per hour. Eight alliances have been formed to construct the bridge,” Jeddah Metro Company Executive Director Osama Abdou was quoted as saying by local media.
The Ubhur bridge, which will be one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, will link the south Ubhur with north Ubhur, pass through Sharm Ubhur, he said. “The orange metro will pass through the bridge, and the separating area has a railway line and a pedestrian crossing on both sides.”
In addition to the bridge, there will be train and bus networks, marine transport line and corniche carts. According to the Jeddah Metro Company, which is in charge of implementing public transport projects in Jeddah, the project aims to link all pioneering schemes in the city.
Passengers who wish to reach Jeddah airport will have a choice of using the Haramain train toward Makkah, or riding the metro to Jeddah governorate, and taking the train toward Makkah from Al-Muntalaq station, which will be the largest train station in the Middle East. The station will have five star hotels, commercial and service centers, and a medical center.
The public transport project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, and the final phase of the project will be completed in 2022, after all safety tests are carried out, Abdou said.
He said that the project targets 30 percent of the traffic volume after 20 years of operation, while its share of public transport forms only 1-2 percent now.
Jeddah Metro had earlier announced that public transport projects include a four-line metro network. The blue line will extend from south Jeddah to King Abdulaziz International Airport with a length of 33km (with19 stations).
The orange line will connect the Abhar suspension bridge bypassing old Makkah road with a length of 42km (30 stations). The green line will connect the downtown area with Al-Haramain train at a length of 16.5km (12 stations). The red line will connect King Abdullah Stadium and King Abdullah Road with a length of 58km, passing through 24 stations.
Public transport projects include the light rail train which will service three major sectors; the first passes through Sari Street with a length of 17km (19 stations). The second line passes Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Road, Al-Tahliya with a length of 11km (nine stations). The third line passes through Palestine Street with a length of 9km (11 stations), and reaches a length of 37km during the second phase of the project.
The corniche tram line is 16km long and passes the north corniche of Jeddah (15 stations). The suburban train line will be 159km long and connect the end metro and tram lines on the main axes and highway roads, through the circular road (24 stations).