Teams comprising international and local contractors are preparing to bid by October for the contract to extend the Doha Metro Green Line.

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’s a difficult environment at the moment but we will see how it turns out,” a source familiar with the transaction tells MEED.

Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) received expressions of interest from contractors for the contract in May.

The scheme is known as Green Line extension phase 1a. Details of the proposed construction work have not been released, but it is understood to involve about 10 kilometres of tunnel and 10km of above ground track.

The first phase of the Green Line is under construction. A team of Austria’s Porr, Saudi Binladin Group and the local HBK Contracting Company is working on both the underground and elevated sections.

The project management for the Green Line extension is also expected to be tendered

A joint venture of the US’ Hill International and local Astad Engineering Consultancy and Project Management Company, which is the project manager for underground sections of the network, and a joint venture of the US-based Louis Berger and France’s Egis Rail that is managing the elevated sections, are both expected to compete to be the project manager of the Green Line extension.