Rail Agency awards officials on the Metro project

The awards were presented by the RTA - Eng. Adnan Al Hammadi Director of Construction, Rail Agency, to the Al Rigga Station team Project Manager Mr. Natsuki Takeuchi for completing the work of 10 months in half the time. The safety engineer for the Al Rigga Station site, Abhijeet Kumar, also received an award for ensuring that site safety was up to the highest level whilst working under extreme pressure.

Al Hammadi said, "The work done by these individuals really demonstrates that where there is a will, there is a way. It is common for people to complain about problems most of the time but these individuals have tackled all challenges and came out victorious."

Two other safety officers from the project were awarded for saving the life of one of their colleagues after he suffered a heart attack in his sleep. Mr. Sushant Kumar and Mr. Sethu Vetri Alagan noticed their colleague struggling in his sleep and immediately rushed him to hospital. The doctor said that the slightest delay in bringing him to medical care would have resulted in his death. Eng. Adnan Al Hammadi commended the initiative taken by the two officers, without which their colleague wouldn't have recovered to lead a healthy life.

Al Hammadi offered his reassurance that the project will be delivered on time, He added: "it gives me particular pleasure to award people from the Dubai Metro contractor; this is not an easy project, and it is the longest fully automatic driverless system in the world. However, the work and effort made by the Al Rigga team to ensure that the work is done by 09/09/09 is an example that we should all look up to."

Al Hammadi's inspirational speech was followed by presentation of the certificates to the individuals who made outstanding work on the project.

The ceremony was attended by Directors of the Dubai Rapid Link Consortium, the Contractor for the Dubai Metro Project, Director of the Systra-Parsons Joint Venture, the Consultant and representative of the RTA - Rail Agency, along with safety officials from the project.