ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has signed an agreement to provide electrical equipment to Spanish company SICE, working in an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Saudi Bin Ladin Group, for the deployment of the first electric rapid transit project (RTP) in the GCC. The system will be installed at King Saud University in Riyadh. ABB’s scope will cover the design, engineering, testing, commissioning and installation of electrical equipment and a SCADA control and monitoring system for the RTP system. Three traction power substations will feed King Saud University’s RTP system. ABB will supply transformers, rectifiers, uninterruptible power supply systems, switchgears, and low-voltage equipment. The campus of the newly built King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Riyadh stretches over an area of five square kilometres. In addition to the university clinic and the various scientific and medical institutes, the site includes a large residential area for students, lecturers and staff. The rapid transit project will create an emissions-free transport zone within the university grounds. Students, staff and visitors to the campus will be able to use the rapid transit system with its 24 stations for free once complete. The RTP will run on separate lines on the site. Priority control at the crossroads to the other streets will ensure smooth and efficient passenger transit. “ABB has a long history of providing solutions to the railway and transport sector and we are proud to be involved in a project that will be part of the expansion to one of the largest universities in Saudi Arabia,” said Samir Fadda, rail business manager, ABB Saudi Arabia. “ABB’s solution will be an integral part of the system which will begin operating in 2011. ABB is committed to delivering innovative and reliable technologies for sustainable mobility.”
