Firms are still waiting to be prequalified for the consultancy services contract for the Doha metro.

Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB) received prequalification documents on 9 November 2010 (MEED 23:11:10).

Speaking on the sidelines of MEED’s Qatar Projects 2011 conference in Doha, firms said that they expected to be prequalified for the contract imminently.

The first line of the metro, the Red line, is the first part of Qatar’s $25bn rail plan to be developed. The Red line will run from Doha city to the New Doha International airport. The metro network will consist of 300 kilometres running across Doha once it is complete.

Qatar’s other rail plans include building a freight line that will link Ras Laffan port in the north to the New Doha port at Mesaieed in the south. There are also plans to build a high-speed passenger line that will run from Doha city to the point where the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway will start. The journey will take 51 minutes once the project is complete.

The Qatar Railways Development Company will be responsible for all rail developments in Qatar.