1st subway in Saudi Arabia built by Samsung C&T begins operation

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- A metro in Saudi Arabia built partly by South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp. began operations in the Middle Eastern country's capital city on Sunday, officials said.

The construction unit of Samsung Group announced the opening of Lines 1, 4 and 6 of the Riyadh Metro, a major part of the infrastructure bid for the "vision 2030" project pushed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Lines 2 and 5 are expected to begin operations on Dec. 15, and Line 3 will launch its service on Jan. 5.

Samsung C&T formed a consortium with FCC Construction of Spain and others to build six subway lines covering 176 kilometers in Riyadh, which traverse across the city's major locations, such as King Khalid International Airport and the King Abdullah Financial District.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz declared the start of metro services in an opening ceremony held Wednesday, the South Korean company said.

sookim@yna.co.kr
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