The contract covers three metro lines which will span a total of 95km, with 25km of tracks underground and 48km overhead, Egis said in a statement. The new network, due to come into service in 2020, will help to cater for the "several million" Muslim pilgrims that visit the city each year, it said.
Egis and Systra will carry out feasibility studies and draw up a preliminary design for the metro, and will prepare 'invitation to tender' documentation for design and build contracts.
"Over the 12 month period, the project team based in Medina will draw on all Egis' expertise for this huge project: civil engineering, architecture, environment, rolling stock, signalling, telecoms and operating strategy," Egis said.
Egis is already known for metro building work in the Middle East, in project management and works supervision contracts. Since 2013 it has been working on the Riyadh metro, also in partnership with Systa, and with a US company, Parsons. It is also involved in project management of the Doha metro in Qatar.
The Medina metro project is part of a plan to develop and modernise Saudi Arabia's transport infrastructure, Egis said.
