Firms have submitted prequalification documents to tender for the contract to design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT) the park and ride facilities at metro stations in Al-Wakrah and Lusail.

The private sector partner sought is expected to finance, construct and operate the two facilities, and will be granted a right to generate revenue from the facilities and land adjoining the parking area for a specific concession period. The selected company will be issued with rights to use the land at no cost.

According to Qatar Railways Company the facilities are to be transferred to the state “in a fit and operable condition” at the end of the concession period.

It specified that it is seeking to prequalify firms that are able to demonstrate public-private partnership (PPP) experience, specifically on DBOT models, for similar projects and organisations in the public sector, as well as firms that are able to become part of a consortium that comprises financiers, designers, contractors and operators, among others.

Construction work on the first phase of the metro is expected to be completed between 2019 and 2020, two to three years prior to the staging of the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

In December last year, a 20-year, €3bn ($3.7bn) contract to operate and maintain the metro and Lusail tram to RKH Qitarat was awarded to a consortium that comprises of RATP Dev and Keolis, both of France, and local Hamad Group.

The metro and tram will be launched in stages from the end of 2018 until the end of the construction in 2020.