Doha progresses towards Metro construction
Aug 2012
Peter Kenyon, TunnelTalk
- Four project management and enabling works contracts totaling US$400 million are awarded on the Doha Metro project in Qatar.
- The first awards on the US$21 billion mass transit system come as Qatari Rail (QRail) and its strategic partner Deutsche Bahn assesses design-build bids from 18 prequalified international consortia for five underground and station construction packages that comprise Phase 1 of the project. Each package has a maximum of eight prequalifiers, with a number of consortia represented in different package groups.
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Fig 1. Doha Metro network by 2022
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Fig 2. Completed Doha Metro project in 2026
- According to QRail CEO Saad Al-Muhannadi, 18 successful prequalifiers were selected from 60 international consortia that submitted expressions of interest. Basic alignment and station locations have been agreed for a network of up to 300km, he told the Qatar Transport Conference in Doha.
- The following successful bidders for project management and enabling works were announced at a press conference by Abdullah Al-Subaie, Managing Director of QRail.
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• Red Line Project Management - Jacobs Engineering (USA)
• Gold Line Project Management - Louis Berger (USA) and Egis Rail (France)
• Green Line - Hill International (USA)
• Enabling works - a consortium of Porr (Austria)/ Saudi Binladen Group (Saudi Arabia)/ HBK Contracting (Qatar)
- Construction bids are currently being assessed under the direction of US-based design and engineering consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff, which was appointed in September last year (2011) as Strategic Programme Manager for the Doha Metro and the wider US$37 billion Qatari Integrated Rail Project. According to Al-Subaie these contracts will be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year (2012).
- QRail Deputy Chief Executive Geoff Mee told the Middle East Rail Conference (MERC) earlier this year that the Metro is being developed as four lines in three phases. Phase 1, which needs to be completed in time for Qatar hosting the 2022 Soccer World Cup, comprises 55.1km of twin-running tunnels, 46.2km of elevated track, 22.1km of at-grade construction, and 35 stations. Contracts for the elevated sections are due to be released at the end of 2012.
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QRail's Geoff Mee outlines the project
- The underground work has been divided into five construction packages – Red Line (north), Red Line (south), Green Line, Gold Line and a package that will include construction of two new main stations in Education City and Downtown Doha (Fig 2). It is expected that each contract will be worth between US$700 million and US$1.5 billion.
- The Metro is part of a wider infrastructure programme known as the Qatari Integrated Rail Plan, which incorporates a 30km LRT system currently under construction for the new town of Lusail to the north of Doha; a 10km looped metro system known as the West Bay People Mover to serve the financial district of the Doha Peninsular; development of a high speed railway to Saudi Arabia; and a 40km high speed rail sea crossing to Bahrain.
- By the end of the third and final phase of the Metro, scheduled for completion in 2026, the total length is anticipated to be up to 300km, with 78.5km across four lines (including the Blue Line) in tunnels and connecting 100 underground stations. These underground routes are represented by the dashed lines on Fig 2.
- The project has suffered from a number of delays to the tendering schedule, and was originally programmed to be in construction last year (2011).
- Pressure to deliver Phase 1 of the Metro in time for the 2020 Olympics has been eased by the country's failure to be selected as a finalist for those Games. It is now working to a 2022 Soccer World Cup deadline. The sport's governing body, FIFA, will be carrying out a pre-tournament inspection of Qatar's infrastructure progress in 2020.
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Qatar drives forward with Doha metro - TunnelTalk, December 2011
Atkins scores another Qatar World Cup contract - TunnelTalk, January 2012
Prequalifiers called for 40km Riyadh metro - TunnelTalk, May 2012
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