Qatar Railways invite interest to participate in design and construction of Doha Metro (31 July 2011)

Basic Information

I attended one of the industry awareness events organised by Qatar Railways Company (QRail) in May 2011. Below are key points I noted about the projects' rationale and timeline:

• Key reason for the Railways and METRO is driven by the FIFA World Cup 2022.
• Total Budget for the Railways projects projected to be QAR130 billion (US$35.7bn)
• The METRO is required to ease transportion woes for World Cup 2020 and cope with ever growing population. The complete railways system is expected to be in place in 2026.
• All 12 World Cup Stadiums will have a METRO station.
• QRail is the authority to oversee the management, operation and maintenance of all the local railways and lead coordination efforts with regional and international rail networks.
• QRail is extending an invitation to all contractors with experience in the design and construction of railways including both major underground and elevated civil works. Refer to the advertisement below for details.
• Enquiries can be directed to info@qr.com.qa

 

EOI appeared on 31 July 2011 (Closing date 11 Sept 2011)





Pictures of Future METRO and Stations (Source: Qatar Railways Company)



Scope of Services, Works and Supplies identified for Qatar Railways Project

(Source: Qatar Railways Company)

Summary of services and scope of works

Plenty of Challenges awaits Successful Tenderers

(Source from Qatar Railways Company and own assessment)

No doubt this will be the most ambitious and challenging project. Potential companies need to take into account these challenges:

• Large QAR130 billion Project coupled with immovable construction timeline. You only have 8 or less years to complete the phase 1 (has to be operational before 2022).

Construction Timeline (2012-2020)



Specific Timelines for each METRO lines and Long Distance Rail



• Tenders available only to Internationally renowned companies with local strategic partners (remember, you need to get past the prequalifications stage).
• Competition will be intense. Over 700 representatives signed up for these industry awareness events organised by Qatar Railways Company that were held in May and July this year. The latter is serious about asking all interested companies (international and local) to assemble their own consortiums. (As at 8 August 2011, QRail has sent out a list of all the contact information of companies' representatives who attended the awareness sessions). 
• New Qatar Railways Company that only just been established, with newly appointed CEO and other experienced and professional employees recruited from around the world.
• Compact size of Doha Capital and the fact that most stadiums are actually located in the Doha will pose lots of challenges in terms of impact by other on-going construction projects, heavy traffic and roads that might be closed to heavy trucks and construction vehicles during morning and lunch peak hours.
• Integration and coordination challenges as some facilities, utilties, local expertise and logistics (points of entry via roads, seaport and airport) might be lacking.

Construction and Logistics Challenges (Source: Qatar Railways Company)

 Good Luck!