Indra wins $314m deal in Riyadh

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Indra wins $314m deal in Riyadh

Indra, a consulting and technology multinational based in Spain, has signed a €266-million ($314 million) contract to implement the entire ticketing and access control technology for the new public transportation system currently under construction in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), the company responsible for modernising Riyadh’s infrastructure, has chosen Indra’s offer after an international public tender involving 10 leading multinational companies.

This is the biggest ticketing project in the world till date and the project will be completed in 54 months. The contract also includes maintenance and technological assistance for 10 years.

Riyadh Governor Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, chairman of the High Comission for the Development of Arriyadh and chairman of the High Ministerial Committee for the Riyadh Public Transport Project, and Indra’s executive vice president Eduardo Bonet signed the contract in Riyadh.

Indra will develop the entire advanced pricing management system for the city’s public transportation network. This includes a ticketing control centre with information from the various systems, financial management software, the operator clearing house, and other value-added systems for commercial management.

Indra will provide onboard ticket sale and validation systems for the entire public bus network, which will include around 800 to 1,000 vehicles; and the sale and access control systems for more than 80 stations in six subway lines (this network will total 175 km and serve about six million users).

Thanks to contactless technology, users will be able to access the entire public transportation system using only one card, which they can validate quickly and easily by placing it near the reader.

This solution will also include one-way tickets with a bar code (similar to the tickets for the high-speed service in Spain) and a cell phone payment application that uses NFC (Near Field Communication), the company said. This project strengthens Indra’s position in the Middle East, where major infrastructure plans are in the pipeline for the next few years, the company said.

Additionally, it represents an important milestone in the transport and traffic market of Saudi Arabia, where the multinational is the technological partner of the high-speed railroad project between Madinah and Makkah.

In the case of the Makkah-Madinah railway, the multinational is responsible for the management, telecommunication, security, ticketing and ICT systems, totaling €440 million ($520 million).

Source: TradeArabia News Service

Link: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CONS_273329.html

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.