Business & Money | Friday 8 January, 2016 2:08 pm |

A total of 833 Saudi engineers have joined the $22 billion Riyadh Metro project since construction started more than a year ago.

They are in charge of various engineering, technical and administrative work on Riyadh Metro and its components across the Saudi capital.
Riyadh metro, which is also called the King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project, is due for completion in 2018.
“The plan includes maximizing the number of Saudis working on the metro project until its completion,” a report said, quoting the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh (HCDR). 
In this regard, the HCDR has conducted a series of research studies and organized a series of meetings and workshops with experts and specialists.
The HCDR has also met with government specialists and consultants, and attended international conferences in the field of localization of technology and expertise in the transport sector.
The HCDR has done “all of these with the end in view of contributing to national efforts to generate employment opportunities to young Saudis with the necessary qualifications.”
The HCDR is also planning to establish a specialized center for the study of transport in collaboration with King Saud University (KSU). 
The center, to be established at KSU, will offer courses on engineering, as well as technical and humanitarian projects in public transport.
This is “expected to contribute to the rehabilitation of national talent to work in the Kingdom’s public transport sector.”
The HCDR is also aiming to integrate all stakeholders in the project which include a joint committee from the ministries of finance, labor, commerce and industry, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Saudi Railways Organization, Saudi Company for Railways, King Saud University, Human Resources Fund, Saudi Industrial Property Authority and the Saudi Authority for General Investment.