Germany’s Siemens has been awarded a QR920m ($253m) contract to build substations as part of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation’s (Kahramaa’s) phase 11 transmission expansion scheme.

Siemens will provide and install nine substations in the capital Doha, which will supply power to residences, businesses, hospitals, schools and shopping malls. The German firm will provide gas-insulated switchgears (GIS), which will include voltages of 220kV, 132kV and 66kV. The work is scheduled to take 26 months to complete.

Siemens has previously provided substations for phases 5, 6, 7,9 and 10 of Kahramaa’s transmission expansion programme. Kahramma’s transmission programme saw QR30bn of investment in the period 2005-12, which led to the number of high-voltage substations more than doubling in this period.

This is the second major contract that Kahramaa has awarded for phase 11 of the transmission programme. In December, India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was awarded an estimated $473m contact for the first stage of the phase 11 plan.

L&T will build and install 18 extra high voltage (EHV) substations and 151 kilometres of EHV cabling. The work will involve the supply, erection, testing and commissioning of gas insulated switchgear, power transformers, 220kV EHV cables, 11kV air insulated switchgear, substation systems and a direct current (DC) system.The work will take 22 months to complete.