HCDR launches Riyadh Metro Stations Naming Rights Program
On 15 October, 2017, the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh (HCDR) launched the Naming Rights Program of its Riyadh Metro Project, at a press conference.
“This program seeks to maximize the revenues from the project, which is one of the strategic vehicles for the urban and economic development of the city. It is also a key enabler to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 goals through promotion of metropolitan economic infrastructure, and qualifying the capital to be one of three Saudi cities planned to be ranked among the world’s top 100 cities,” stated Engr. Alwalid Al-Ekrish, ADA Vice President for programs and planning, in his opening remarks.
Advertising opportunities to reach one million passengers a day
“The funds raised will be used to sustain and develop services and reduce the project’s operational costs, while allowing local and international private entities to widely promote their products, services and brands. The metro is planned to accommodate more than 365 million passengers per year in its opening phase and 1.3 billion per year in the future,” he added.
10 Selected Stations
According to Engr. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Hazzani, ADA Architectural Projects’ Program Manager, “Leading local and international companies are invited to bid for naming and advertising rights at 10 stations, out of the project’s 85 stations.”
“The 10 stations were chosen due to their important locations and high population density taking into account that the key stations bearing the names of national facilities or historical and archaeological sites are out of the scope of the program,” he added.
High returns on the project
Engr. Khalid Al-Hazzani also referred that the tender offers a rare opportunity for major private sector entities to get services, benefits and facilities that will make their brands and products available to all the targeted users of the project, whether through billboards, advertising, maps, publications issued by the project, retail outlets, or the project website and its social media accounts.
Bidding procedures
Engr. Hassan bin Abdulaziz Al-Musa, Deputy Director of ADA’s Transport Planning Department, gave a brief explanation on the tender procedures. According to Al-Musa, the tender kicks off on October 15, 2017, and bidders need to register online (via the project website http://riyadhmetro.sa) to get obtain the tender’s criteria and bidding rules. ADA will then rely on the information provided by the bidding companies to classify and pre-qualify them according to the program’s criteria, conditions and regulations.
After that, the HCDR will start receiving quotations from the qualified companies (between December 17, 2017 and January 25, 2018), then study the offers submitted and announce the winning entities.
Promising Opportunities
It is noteworthy that the returns expected from King Abdul Aziz Project for Public Transport in Riyadh (Metro and Buses) go beyond the provision of public transport to include better metropolitan lifestyle and economic infrastructure. It will also boost the city position as a preferred hub for quality investments.
