Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com
DOHA: The 4th annual Qatar Transport Conference scheduled for May 28 and 29, will provide a comprehensive guide to Qatar’s multi-billion dollar projects market and detail where the business and investment opportunities will be in the coming 12-18 months.
The organisers said yesterday Qatar is pushing ahead with its massive transport infrastructure programmes this year, with $17bn worth of projects still up for grabs.
Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has lined up 30 highway projects in 2013. As of February, a total of $1.88bn has already been awarded, including the $640m Package 13 on the Doha Expressway.
“Without a doubt, 2013 is a pivotal year for Qatar’s transportation programmes. Never has there been a better time for companies skilled with managing and servicing major infrastructure projects to enter and expand their presence in one of the world’s fastest growing projects markets,” said Edmund O’Sullivan, Chairman, MEED Events, organisers of the Annual Qatar Transport Conference.
In addition to the Expressway Programme, the massive transport schemes that have yet to be awarded include the Local Roads and Drainage Programme, the Integrated Rail Programme, Lusail City Development as well as various bridges, tunnels air and maritime port expansion programmes.
With the FIFA 2022 World Cup less than a decade away, there is a greater urgency for Qatar to award transport projects that will be critical to the country’s successful staging of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. There has been a massive interest in Qatar’s high speed and freight rail projects, Phase One of which involves the 195km freight line linking Port Mesaieed to Ras Laffan.
The next phase will focus on the construction of the 150km high-speed connection to Bahrain, and the final phase will involve the construction of a 165km network linking Dukhan to Al Shamal and Doha City.
Another project that will pick up in activity is the Doha Metro, for which the Gold and Green Lines are expected to be awarded at the end of second quarter this year, while the rolling stock and systems contracts will be handed out early next year and the O&M packages in 2015. More info
