First Phase of Doha Metro Project Starts in 2013

Doha, February 15 (QNA) - CEO of Qatar Railways Company (QRail) Engineer Saad Al Mohannadi has announced that the execution of the first phase of the Doha Metro will begin in early 2013, pointing out that the company is currently in the final stages of the design process. This came in a press statement Al Mohannadi gave on the sidelines of a conference held by "QRail" on Wednesday to view the requirements for the first phase of the metro project such as materials, construction and logistics services to the local investor. He noted that the project will be tendered in the second quarter of this year, pointing out that the tender was postponed before, for more extensive studies, pointing out that this led to the advancement of the date of the launch by about a year, to be launched in October 2019 up from in January 2021. Engineer Saad Al Mohannadi CEO of "QRail", during his opening address to the Conference which reviewed the needs of the first phase of the Doha Metro project, said that the aim of the conference was to provide information about the quantity and quantity of materials for building the first phase of Qatari Railways Project. He pointed out that the conference sessions cover all the details of the initial construction equipment, water management, recycling and everything related to business associated with the completion of the railway. Al Mohannadi explained that in light of the preliminary information to be provided by the conference, Qatari companies will be able to develop perceptions about investment opportunities and to participate in this vital project, adding that the metro project through the stages of execution and after completion will provide investment opportunities for the private sector in the fields of construction, operation and maintenance. He also indicated that "QRail" has, in coordination with the Qatar Development Bank and in collaboration with a global consultant, conducted a study to identify Qatari private sector opportunities for investment in the field of railways, pointing out that the results of the study will be published in the second quarter of 2012. The CEO of Qatar Railways Company (QRail) Engineer Saad Al Mohannadi said in his opening address of the conference that such a conference aims to provide ample information about the quality and quantity of the raw materials required to the building stage of the qatar railways project including the contruction equipment, the water management and recycling and all works associated with the said project. According to these preliminary information the qatari companies will put their visualisations on the investment and partnership opportunities in such a vital project, said eng.Al Mohannadi. Al Mohannadi further said that QRail aims to resettle some of the industries on the railway project , explaining that there are instructions directly from HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani who is also the Chairman of the steering committee of the construction of the Qatari railway networks to the need to provide all the information to the private sector and the qatari investor to get a direct and effective benefit of the project. Elaborating the CEO of QRail said that to activate this role, the QRail company is to allocate as of next March a specific time on Tuesday of each week to meet and respond to all inquiries posed by the Qatari private sector in this regard. The CEO of Qatar Railways Company (QRail) Engineer Saad Al Mohannadi has called upon the Qatari private sector namely the local companies to enter into partnership with world companies which have plenty of railway building expertise , the matter which would give impetus to the aforesaid doha metro project executing companies. Al-Mohannadi said the Arabian Gulf region and the Middle East are expected to turn ,over the next five years, into the largest workshop in the world for rail projects and their integration with the sectors of transport and other transport to create a systematically integrated transportation mechanism that play its role in accelerating the process of development and economic and population growth in the Middle East in general. It is worth mentioning that the work in the rail network passenger transport network and transport of goods and metro network in the railway network in Qatar will be implemented in parallel stages with distances to be covered by the long-distance trains network amounting to about 350 kilometers, and with the passenger trains' speed expected to vary between 220 kilometers per hour to 350 kilometers per hour and 120 kilometers per hour for freight trains. Touching on the metro network, which consists of four lines extending approximately along the 354 kilometers and which connects the city of Doha with all the major cities, with an estimated speed of Metro trains to 80 miles per hour inside the cities and reaches 160 kilometers per hour outside the cities. It is worth mentioning that Qatar Railways Company (QRail) has entered into a QAR1.95bn ($535.7m) deal with Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC) to execute the new phase of the light rail transit (LRT) system in the new city of Lusail, North Doha. The contract with QDVC, a subsidiary of Qatari Diar, covers civil engineering works in seven underground stations, construction of a viaduct over the highway between Doha and the northern part of the country and preliminary work for the LRT depot and maintenance workshop. All works in this phase are expected to be completed in 38 months. The Lusail LRT project entails four lines covering a distance of 30km, with ten underground stations and 25 at grade stations, being developed in several phases. The entire project is executed in several engineering study and construction phases, where the next and final phase will include rolling stock and systems. Integrated into 19 mixed-use districts, the project will transport 200,000 people and around 400,000 visitors a day in the new city of Lusail and is being developed on a 37km? waterfront site 15km north of Doha. The light rail system will serve the entire new city and interconnect with the regional transport network, with connections with the planned national rail network at two stations on the Al Khor Highway. Lusail LRT has therefore been handed over to Qatar Railways Company, the newly formed authority. A design phase for the project began in August 2007, after which earthwork and excavation for cut-and-cover tunnels was carried out by the QDVC and Vinci Construction Grands Projects in March 2009. In March 2010, tunnel construction was carried out and preparatory works for underground station development began in June 2011. Completion of the Lusail LRT project is scheduled for 2016.(QNA)