The company has expressed its firm interest in metro projects in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and may also be preparing to bid for the proposed Purple Line of the Dubai Metro. “We want to participate in the railway projects in the GCC and the North Africa region,” Samsung business development manager for the Mena region, Muntae Suh told Construction Week. “If the project is big, such as a multi-billion dollar project like the Purple Line of the Dubai Metro, we would consider bidding as the leading member of a consortium.”

Samsung Engineering currently has at least 31 major projects ongoing in Korea, including railway lines and railway maintenance workshops, and various other projects worldwide, including a number in Saudi Arabia.

“We are focused on the railway system work itself,” Suh said, adding that the firm would seek a role similar to that undertaken by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on the Dubai Metro, which is leading the consortium constructing the line.

In Abu Dhabi, the contract for construction of the Purple Line metro system will be tendered in 2011 once a feasibility study has been carried out, according to the Department of Transport.

The Purple Line is the fourth line of the Dubai Metro project and will provide a direct link between Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali Airport, a distance of about 49 kilometres.

The line will pass along Al Khail Road and will serve vital key projects extending along Al Khail Road and the Al Jaddaf area. The line will be automatically operated and driver-less and will include eight passenger stations.

The project completion is expected by the end of 2013.

Source: Construction Week

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