A consortium led by Italian contractor Impregilo has won a $2.2bn contract to design and build the Red Line North metro in Doha.

The consortium includes South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction and local Galfar Al-Misnad Engineering and Contracting. Impregilo confirmed the win in an official statement.

MEED reported in April that Qatar Rail selected the Impregilo-led consortium for the package. MEED also reported that a consortium comprising Turkish firms Yapi Merkezi and STFA and Greece’s Aktor have been selected for the stations package.

The Red Line North will stretch approximately 13km northwards from Mushaireb station. The scope of work will include the excavation of two parallel tunnels of 11.6km in length. The line will have seven new underground stations.

Awards are also expected soon for the Red Line South, the Green Line and the Golden Line. Bids were submitted by contractors at the end of 2012 and the start of this year.

Contractors are also preparing bids for Doha Metro’s elevated sections of the Red, Green and Gold lines. Companies have already been prequalified for each line’s elevated sections package. Bids for the Red Line South section are due in on 13 August.

The rail project will have 80 stations by the time it is completed and cover a distance of more than 300kms. The metro will link the New Doha International airport (NDIA) to the centre of Doha and will link together a number of the stadiums that will be used for the 2022 World Cup.