By Chris Sleight www.khl.com
A joint venture between Vinci Construction Grands Projets (49%) and QDVC (51%) has won the € 374 million (US$ 540 million) contract to build a light rail transit (LRT) system in the new Qatari city of Lusail, 15 km north of the capital Doha. QDVC is a subsidiary of Qatari Diar, a state-owned investment company that also owns 5.7% of Vinci.
The design & build contract is for civil engineering work to construct eight underground stations as well as preliminary work on the LRT depot and maintenance workshop. The contract also includes the construction of a viaduct over the main highway between Doha and the northern part of Qatar. QDVC has previously worked on the project, with various earthworks and civil engineering contracts that have included the construction of cut-and-cover tunnels and ventilation shafts.
The LRT project was unveiled in August 2007 and will comprise four lines totalling 30 km and 44 stations, eight of which will be underground. Final handover of the project is due in 2016, and Vinci says its work to build the underground stations will take 38 months.
The new city of Lusail covers 37 km2 of waterfront to the north of Doha, and the city development has been organised into 19 mixed-use districts. It will eventually accommodate some 0.2 million residents, with the same number of workers and visitors using the city on a daily basis.
