Kuwait metro piques interests

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The Kuwait City Metro project is being looked upon as a necessity in order to ease the desperate traffic congestion in the country. (Getty Images)

The firm leading construction of Dubai Metro has said that it is "certainly interested" in the proposed Kuwait City Metro and other regional metro projects.

Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is leading Dubai Rapid Link (Durl), a consortium of Japanese firms Obayashi Corporation and Kajima Corporation, and Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, in construction of Dubai Metro.

Speaking to Construction Week, Durl spokesman Hideo Ikuno said, "MHI is aware of the (Kuwait City Metro) project and is certainly interested but has not decided any specifics."

Last month communications minister Abdulrahman Al Ghunaim said in a statement that a feasibility study conducted by Kuwait Transportation Union on the metro project had been approved by the higher committee headed by the Communications Ministry.

The Kuwaiti Cabinet is currently considering the report.

MHI is also planning to bid for construction of the blue and purple line extensions to the Dubai Metro, which are being planned.

Both lines will link Dubai International Airport with Al Maktoum International Airport which is under construction.

"Though details are not clear, MHI is positively studying this with an assumption to participate in bidding," Ikuno said.

Doha, Riyadh, Makkah and Abu Dhabi also have metro plans.

Details, including routes, will be made available for the Abu Dhabi project in January.

The search for a contractor will begin thereafter, according to reports.

Ikuno indicated that MHI would continue to bid for metro projects in the region as and when they become available.

"We will leverage our experience in wining the Dubai Metro order, and MHI will continue to aim at securing orders in the Middle East region," he said.

The Durl consortium is among a handful of companies in the world offering a turnkey metro system to cities across the GCC.

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