Saudi-French group wins $2.1b bus deal

RIYADH — Saudi Public Transport Co. (Saptco) has won a $2.1 billion contract to operate and maintain buses in Riyadh jointly with French group RATP Dev. The 10-year deal is worth 7.885 billion riyals ($2.1 billion, 1.5 billion euros), Saptco indicated, noting that Riyadh authorities informed them they won the deal on Wednesday. Saptco and RATP Dev in January 2010 signed a strategic partnership to develop the public transport system in Saudi Arabia, including a tramway and metro system. In July 2013, Saudi Arabia granted three foreign consortiums — led by US, Spanish and Italian firms — contracts worth $22.5 billion (16.9 billion euros) to build a Riyadh metro The metro aims to help ease traffic congestion in the capital, a city of six million people, with a six-line network across Riyadh and serving the airport.