Saudi Arabia’s Race to Build a $22B Railway in the Desert | WSJ Breaking Ground

- This is one of the largest metro projects in the world. Stretching 170 kilometers across a

desert

city, the $22.5 billion Riyadh Metro is an incredible feat of engineering. But this is more than just a megaproject. - It is also about

build

ing an image and showing that the country is progressive, it is modern. - Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has been investing billions of its oil revenues into engineering a legacy that will outlive the man on the throne. Now the country is preparing to host two major global events, which would bring money, tourism and political influence. It is a golden opportunity for the kingdom as it seeks to transform its economy and improve its human rights reputation on the world stage.

It also increases pressure to complete this massive infrastructure project that is already years behind schedule. This is Saudi Arabia's

race

to finish the

railway

that could open its doors to the world. (soft, inspiring music) This is Riyadh's metro network, six lines, 85 stations and 170 kilometers of new tracks stretching across a city built on sand. Most cities

build

something of this scale in several phases over several decades. But Saudi Arabia is turning these eye-catching renderings into reality in a single phase, making it one of the largest single-phase metro projects in the world. This is because Riyadh is a city with great ambitions. - The transformation that occurred over approximately 30 years is truly remarkable.

The physical environment has changed, the social structure has changed and it's just a very different atmosphere, a very different vibe. - In the 1970s, the city used the country's oil profits to expand its automobile infrastructure. Riyadh has gone through great changes since then. Its urban environment has expanded as the population has grown almost 20 times. Women were granted the right to drive and now international tourists can visit. As in the rest of the Gulf, the city still has a strong car culture, thanks in part to the heat of walking anywhere. But if we look even further into the future, car-centric cities are not really at the forefront of innovation.

A new driverless electric public transport system is a forward-thinking investment. The Riyadh Metro has been in the works for more than a decade and is helping the kingdom set very important goals. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to make the capital an international business hub, which would double its population by 2030. But the world is still wary of the kingdom, which has spent decades isolated and condemned for its human rights violations. If the country wants a chance to boost its growth and reshape its international image, hosting a massive global event is a good place to start. Saudi Arabia has been chosen to host the 2030 World Expo, which will welcome tens of millions of tourists from more than 100 countries.

It is also the favorite to host the 2034 World Cup. Both events will put Riyadh at the center of billions of dollars in construction projects such as this proposed new stadium for the city of Qiddiya, which is expected to be the new center Saudi Arabian entertainment company. - When you look at all the other mega projects that are underway in Riyadh right now, they will not make any sense if there is no transport network linking them. Therefore, it is a crucial element in the Saudi vision for 2030 that the metro opens very soon. - Building something of this scale is challenging enough, but doing it all in the

desert

makes things even more difficult. - It is a harsh desert climate.

It would be necessary to take into account the effect of heat, the effect of sand storms and, furthermore, in winter it can be quite cold. You would have to select suitable materials that can withstand the effect of these fluctuating temperatures. - In the Riyadh metro, the carriages had to be specially designed to take into account the extremely high temperatures and sand. Contractors had to adapt the way they stored the concrete outside because it was so hot that the top layer began to dry before they could pour it. Three huge tunnel boring machines were used to bore and excavate 40% of the route, which passes beneath the city, weaving the foundations of existing buildings and utilities, and there is a law prohibiting some workers from working certain hours in the middle of the day when temperatures are dangerously high.

But the physical environment was not the only challenge. The former governor of Riyadh was arrested in the 2017 Crown Prince crackdown for alleged corruption in the Riyadh Metro Project. The 2020 pandemic caused supply chain disruptions across the industry, and in 2021, some major project contractors sent some staff home due to a more than $1 billion payment dispute. Delays in infrastructure projects are quite common around the world. It is known that it took New York City almost 100 years from the time the Second Avenue subway was proposed to be completed. The Riyadh Metro was originally scheduled to open in 2019, just five years after construction began.

Now the Royal Commission of the city of Riyadh hopes to soon announce the opening date of the metro. But in a project like this, time is money and Saudi Arabia has a lot of money. Over the past few years, the country's national oil company has made more than $100 billion in net profits each year. Much of that money is funneled into the country's public investment fund, which is essentially a giant pool of money that the country uses to pay for megaprojects like the Metro. - I think Riyadh offers a different approach in the sense that it does not depend entirely on external investments.

In Dubai, a large part of its growth can be attributed to external players investing in the city. Riyadh and Saudi Arabia don't need that. - Most of the Riyadh Metro contracts were signed in 2013. That meant architecture, engineering and construction firms from around the world were competing for a slice of the $22.5 billion budget. In the end, more than 30 international and local companies and many more suppliers and subcontractors were selected to work on the project. Among those chosen were some very high-profile companies such as Zaha Hadid Architects. - Well, historically architecture has always been associated with power, and there is a kind of gravitation on the part of architects to have projects and get clients, and clearly governments and various state institutions are the ones that have the means to provide it. - At this time in history, the oil-rich Gulf states are commissioning many big-budget architecture and construction projects.

While locals can benefit from some mega projects, there is also another potential reward. International tourism and reputation building. - Of course, there is a downside, because sometimes projects like that can be a way for autocratic regimes to mask human rights abuses. - In neighboring Qatar, the 2022 World Cup brought a new level of global scrutiny over labor practices in the region. Thousands of migrant workers have reportedly died in the country in the last decade, although not all in connection with the World Cup. FIFA and the Qatar World Cup Organizing Committee have said there were three work-related deaths at World Cup stadiums.

Like many countries around the world, Saudi Arabia relies on migrant labor in construction. Human rights experts are concerned about the potential exploitation of a power imbalance and the risks related to heat stress, debt bondage and the general safety of construction sites. The Riyadh City Royal Commission did not respond to our request for comment on how it addressed labor protection in the Riyadh Metro Project. Despite its promotional videos, the Riyadh Metro is not as dazzling as Saudi Arabia's newer projects like Neom, a futuristic city in the desert. But it is the backbone of a much broader vision to redesign the country's future.

Once the metro finally opens its doors, Riyadh will face its next challenge: getting Saudis to abandon their cars and actually use the train. - Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen, but definitely the underlying framework, the infrastructure is there for that to happen. (soft and inspiring music)