SAUDI Arabia has asked 10 prequalified international consortia to submit their bids for the multi-billion-dollar Makkah Metro project, contracts for which are expected to be signed in early October, according to the city’s mayor.

Osama Al Bar said the project would be launched in mid-2015, operated on a trial basis in 2017 and fully commissioned at the start of 2020.

Al Bar told the Arabic language daily Al Youm that a letter containing the terms and specifications of the project had been sent to the 10 prequalified consortia vying for the first phase of the project, which involves civil works.

The project involves 88 train stations, including 22 underground depots, in addition to a four-line rail network extending around 182 km.