Construction on the first phase of the Doha Metro cannot be completed under the existing transport blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and other states on Qatar, according to contractors involved in the project.

While there are enough building materials in stock to allow construction work on the Doha Metro to proceed over the next few weeks, an extended blockade could mean contractors will run out of materials within weeks.

“We will potentially be forced to take on all types of liabilities… including missing the agreed project delivery date with the client and the unfulfilled lump sum contracts with sub-contractors that are based in Saudi Arabia, UAE or even Qatar,” one of the contractors tells MEED.

If the blockade continues, one option the contractors could take is to quickly negotiate new contracts with materials suppliers from Turkey, India or Iran, which will entail additional costs that neither they nor the client, Qatar railways Company (Qatar Rail), would be willing to absorb.

It appears that the only option that contractors would prefer to focus on in order to meet their obligations is the quick resolution of the ongoing diplomatic dispute. “So far there is no viable plan B,” another source tells MEED.

Qatar Rail recently released the tender for the extension of the Doha Metro Green line and expects to receive proposals from bidders by 1 October.

Groups that are understood to be planning to bid for the contract include the team comprising Greece’s Aktor, Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi and STFA, India’s Larsen & Toubro and local AlJaber Engineering, as well as a team that includes Italy’s Salini Impregilo among others.

It is unclear how the blockade, and its impact on Qatar’s fiscal standing, will affect the procurement timeline for the package.

Qatar Rail awarded contracts worth in excess of QR60bn ($16.5bn) to nine joint ventures between 2013 and 2015.

The first phase of the Doha Metro is expected to be completed by 2019, three years prior to the country hosting the 2022 Fifa World Cup.