The construction consultancy Arcadis has been appointed by Qatar Rail to provide design and consultancy services on the Doha Metro.
The company is delivering detailed designs and architectural finishing work for 10 of the 13 stations on the Gold Line, as well as supervision during the construction phase. The contract is worth about €20 million (Dh82.5m). The design work is expected to take 12 months and the supervision a further two years.
Arcadis said that the remaining three stations on the line have been tendered under a separate contract package, which may be awarded to it at a later date.
Arcadis is delivering the work for the Alysj joint venture – a consortium of construction companies led by the Greek contractor Ellaktor.
In April last year, it won a US$4.4 billion award to build the line, which is understood to be the most technically challenging of the first phase.
The Gold Line runs from east to west across Doha and includes 32 kilometres of tunnels.
Arcadis started work on the project this month. The company is already carrying out similar work on Doha Metro’s Red Line South.
“This award is a tribute to the team already working on a similar package on Red Line South metro in Doha, as their excellent work has encouraged the ultimate client, Qatar Rail Company, to have confidence in recommending a further package of work,” said Stephan Ritter, the Arcadis executive board member for the UK, Europe and Middle East.
A new report by Samba Financial Group argues that Qatar’s continuing capital expenditure commitments, worth about $200bn, are likely to continue despite the drop in hydrocarbon revenues and uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 2022 World Cup as a result of the corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body, Fifa.
“Despite maintaining our view that the tournament will go ahead in Qatar in 2022, we recognise that the chances of a revote have increased significantly,” it said.
“It is therefore important to reiterate that the vast majority of the planned capital expenditure is ancillary and planned independently of the World Cup.”
The proportion of spending directly linked to the World Cup is just 7.5 per cent of the total – $3bn for the stadiums and $12.4bn for the accommodation.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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