FCC Construccion leads the FAST Consortium (which also includes as partners Samsung C&T (South Korea). Strukton (Netherlands). Alstom (France) and Freysinnet (Saudi Arabia)). responsible for designing and building lines 4, 5, and 6 of the new Riyadh Metro Project in Saudi Arabia, currently recognized as one of the largest public infrastructure projects in the world. Including the work of the two other D&B consortia, the Riyadh Metro Project - owned by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), consists of 6 lines, totalling 176km of trackway, including 76km of tunnels, 7 depots (2 of them built by FAST), 85 stations, and 25 park and ride facilities.

This project is full of complex logistical challenges, but it is also transforming the economic environment and introducing important innovations. The Consortium has focused its efforts on people, specifically on supporting, training and developing the talent of its employees. Local staff are motivated towards becoming involved in the economic benefits of the project, Thanks to this, and the close interaction with the population, workers are keen to show the project as one which will benefit the Kingdom as a whole and the city of Riyadh in particular.

The benefit of opening the new public transport system in Riyadh will be enormous since it is calculated that it will provide up to 23.000 jobs, 10.000 of which will be direct, with 45% of them for the local population.

Aware of the benefits of working together with local communities, in this project FAST Consortium has not only ensured the best practices for the worker's health and safety but has also been involved in proactive programmes to educate the local population.

For this, it is working together with other partners across the Riyadh Metro Project to deliver a Joint Technology Transfer Programme, carrying out the following initiatives:

• Seminars in various local universities on health and safety, environment, quality, project management, construction, transit systems, etc. Since the programme started, nine seminars have been held in four universities, and new seminars with the participation of more universities are scheduled till the end of construction.
• Summer internship programmes aimed at Saudi university students, lasting 10 weeks.
• To date, 60 students have participated in this programme with FAST Consortium, who, as well as spending three weeks each year hosted by partner companies in Europe and abroad, have worked for seven weeks with professional engineers on the project. In 2016, 10 students spent a week with FCC in Spain, before returning to their placements in Riyadh. and it is planned to continue this collaboration over the coming years.
• Three students who previously took part in the programme have been contracted by FAST Consortium as full time employees.
• Technical learning workshops aimed at students and professionals. lasting for one week. These cover various aspects. improving people's technical understanding of the Riyadh Metro project.