Four international consortia are competing to build a metro network in Riyadh, according to authorities. The consortia — including 33 companies from 15 countries — have to submit their final bids by December, said the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh. The bidders for the project include Vinci and Alstom of France, Italy’s Ansaldo, Canada’s Bombardier, Germany’s Siemens and Stadler Bussnang of Switzerland. Six lines of electric rail, totaling 175 km, are planned to stretch across Riyadh and serving the airport and the future King Abdullah Financial District. The commission indicated that it might award the contract to more than one consortium considering the project’s huge size. The four consortia have qualified for the final round of bidding from 38 groups that were vying for the project. In January, Saudi Arabia inked an $ 8.22 billion deal with a Spanish consortium to build a 450-km high-speed railway linking the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Kingdom has a 449-km passenger train linking Riyadh with Dammam, with a parallel cargo line connecting the capital with the coastal city. From : Arabnews