Ashghal, Qatar’s public works authority, has awarded two contracts worth €550 million (Dh2.26 billion) to a consortium led by Bouygues Construction, a French contracting company.
The contracts cover the construction of two major sewage tunnels in Doha that are being built as part of the 10bn Qatari riyal (Dh10.08bn) Idris (Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy) project.
The project is an eight-year plan to massively increase the capacity of the Qatari capital’s sewerage and wastewater network to cope with the needs of the rapidly increasing population.
The work covers a northern section that will be up to 16 kilometres long and three metres wide, and a southern section that will be 14km long and 4.5 metres wide.
The consortium, which includes the Qatari contractor Urbacon Trading & Contracting, is set to start on site soon. It is due to hand over the completed tunnels in 2019.
“For this ambitious project, we have developed an innovative technical solution that will enable us to address the customer’s concerns effectively and fully meet their expectations,” said Jean-Philippe Trin, the deputy chief executive of Bouygues Travaux Publics.
Another of the company’s subsidiaries, Bouygues Batiment International, is working towards the completion of the Qatar Petroleum District – a complex with 700,000 square metres of space that houses nine office towers, a conference centre and a five-star, 400-bedroom hotel.
A report on Qatar’s economic prospects by Samba Financial Group estimates that US$30bn of contracts are due to be awarded this year, and that contracts worth a similar figure would be awarded next year. The total amount of contract awards due between this year and 2020 is $135bn, according to the report.
“While elevated project activity will bring widespread opportunities, there are worries about implementation constraints, given the vast amount of resources needed to undergo such projects,” the report said.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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