Following the non-inclusion of Qatar in the short list of venues for the 2020 summer Olympics it appears unlikely that track contracts will be awarded earlier than scheduled, Q1 of 2014.
Deputy chief executive officer Geoff Mee said in the first fortnight of May that there could be fast tracking of awards if Qatar would be awarded the 2020 summer Olympics. That was days before Qatar was knocked out of reckoning for the 2020 Olympics.
Qatar Railway plans to award contracts for the elevated metro sections in the second quarter of next year. The metro will still be a key transportation solution for the hosting of the 2022 soccer World Cup in Qatar.
It was visualised that the first phase of the railway project, including metro links from the airport to sporting venues, would be ready by the fourth quarter of 2019.
Bids have been submitted by 18 groups for five packages of work including digging tunnels and construction stations. It was stated that contracts for those projects would be awarded by the end of this year. Saad Al Mohannadi, Qatar Railway’s chief executive, said earlier this year that drilling work for the metro would start at the beginning of 2013.
Initially four tunneling packages are to be issued each worth $2 billion to $3 billion for the planned 213 km metro in Doha.
The Qatar Integrated Railway Project encompasses four metro lines, a tramway and a people mover serving two new cities, extensive commuter railways, a high speed line across the planned road-rail causeway to Bahrain, and a mixed-traffic link to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
The tunnelling contracts are expected to be awarded in October, and the first TBM drive is planned to start in late 2013 or early 2014. These contracts form part of the 75·4 km Phase 1a, which would run mostly underground and serve 26 stations.
The 12 World Cup tournament venues are concentrated within a 60 km radius of Doha and will all be served by the rail network, 70 per cent of which should be operational in 2020.
DB International and Qatari Diar signed a $25 billion joint venture contract in November 2009 to design and build Doha’s metro and suburban rail network. The metro network will eventually have four lines with 98 stations, with Phase I covering the 30 km Red Line from Lusail to New Doha International Airport. Doha International Airport will be the main gateway for the World Cup.
The town of Lusail will benefit from the Lusail Light Rail Transit System. Qatari Diar Vinci Construction is working on a contract covering civil engineering works. Completion time is 2016.