QATAR: Railway project promoter Qatar Rail has awarded a consortium of Alstom and QDVC the €2bn main contract for the construction of a four-line tram network in Lusail. Opening of the Yellow Line is planned for 2018, with the Green, Red and Purple lines to follow in 2020.
The contract was signed in Paris on June 23 in the presence of Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and French President François Hollande.
Alstom’s share of the contract is worth €450m, and includes trackwork, signalling, substations, catenary, the APS ground-level power supply system and 35 Citadis trams.
The city of Lusail is being developed on a waterfront site to the north of Doha, and is planned to house 200 000 people. The Lusail Light Rail Transit network will connect with the future Doha metro and national rail networks, and have a total length of 33 km, including 7 km underground, with 37 stops.
The 100% low-floor Citadis trams will be 32 m long, and offer 'high-end comfort' with passenger information and security systems onboard and at stops. Lusail LRT will be the second tramway in the Gulf region to use APS technology, after the Al Sufouh line in Dubai where testing is now underway for opening later this year.
Options for a further 32 Citadis trams could take the total value of the contract to Alstom to €750m. Several Alstom sites will be involved in the project, including Le Creusot, Ornans, Tarbes and Villeurbanne. 'This new order in the Middle East demonstrates the success of our global strategy and the strong links we have with the region', said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, President of Alstom Transport.
Civil works partner QDVC is a 51:49 joint venture of Qatari Diar and Vinci Construction Grands Projets. QDVC began earthworks for the cut-and-cover tunnels in 2009, and in 2011 was awarded a €374m design and build contract covering the eight underground stops, a viaduct over a motorway and preliminary works for the depot.
