Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) aims to reach 65 per cent completion for the under-construction Doha Metro and Lusail light rail transit in 2017.

This level of completion would entail finishing of tunnelling work and the installation of test track as well as “substantial progress” on operational readiness of the schemes by the end of 2017. The latter entails the award of the operator and facility management contracts for both the metro and tramway as well as the development of a long-term business model and identification and planning of key revenue streams.

In March 2016, Qatar Rail prequalified six groups for the operation of the Doha Metro and the Lusail tramway. They include:

•  MTR Corporation (Hong Kong)
•  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) / West Japan Railway Company (JR West) / Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan)
•  Serco (UK)
•  Transdev (France)
•  RATP Dev (France) / Keolis (France)
•  Arriva (UK) / DB International (Germany)

Qatar Rail also said in its 2016 annual report that it is aiming to award all mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracts during this period.

The metro and tramway are expected to open in 2020, with most construction work expected to be completed during 2018 and 2019.

A total of $16.6bn-worth of main contracts are under execution for the Doha Metro and close to $4bn of deals are under execution for the tramway.

Key contracts awarded for the Doha Metro and Lusail tram: