Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has received offers from three groups for the design and construction of the Al-Bustan North road, a key segment of its multibillion dollar Expressway Programme.

The groups that have submmitted an offer are understood to include:

• MSF (Portugal) / HBK Contracting (local) / Qatar Building Company (local) 
• STFA (Turkey) / Sacyr (Spain)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Lebanon) / Teyseer (local)

The teams comprise the same contractors that submitted an offer when the contract was first tendered in 2015.

A team comprising Turkey’s Yuksel Insaat and Spain’s Ferrovial, which said it won the contract worth $789m in September last year, did not submit an offer.

“There were difficulties during the contract negotiation,” a source familiar with the project told MEED, referring to the factors that led to the retender of the contract.

The new tender closed on 22 January, according to the tenders section of the agency’s website.

The scope of the project is understood to include:

• 1 bridge
• 8 underpasses
• 7 overpasses
• 4 intersections
• 5.4km long four-lane express roads in both directions
• side roads
• retaining walls
• pedestrian and bicycle paths
• traffic signalling system
• street lighting
• landscaping

Qatar’s expressway programme calls for a total of 35 road schemes to be executed between 2010 and 2017. It will deliver a total of 900 kilometres of mainline carriageway and about 200km at grade and multi-level intersections.

Some of the largest international and local contractors are involved in the road projects under construction including Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), QD-SBG (a joint venture of Qatari Diar and SBG), Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C), Daewoo E&C, Joannou & Paraskevaides, Dogus Insaat, Larsen & Toubro, Teyseer Contracting, Al-Jaber Engineering, and Habtoor Leighton Group among others.

Qatar is under pressure to upgrade existing roads and build new ones as part of its commitment to the 2022 Fifa World Cup and in line with its long-term economic development plan.

It recently invited specialised consultancy and systems integrators to bid for an intelligent transport system and invited an interest from contractors for the nationwide maintenance and rehabilitation of its roads and streets.

In August 2016, Qatar awarded Tekfen Construction, also of Turkey, a $2.09bn contract for the construction of a 34km highway as part of the Al-Khor Expressway project.