ASIF IQBAL DOHA QATAR Railways Development Company (QRDC) on Monday said that it has invited five tenders for the first phase of the metro rail transit system. The bids invited are for works related to digging of tunnels and erecting structures for the metro. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Rail, Saad al Mohannadi, the tenders have been divided into four categories, namely, digging underground tunnels, building structures for the Green Line, Red Line and part of Golden Line. These works will be carried out in the Musheireb and Education City areas of Doha. “The tenders invited are to carry out urgent works for the first phase. The assessment process took six months, as we wanted to ensure that the bids are competitive and the firms have the capacity to carry out quality work within the given deadline,” Mohannadi said. He said about 30 firms have been shortlisted from the 60 registered firms that will be invited for the bidding process.

“We hope to finalise the contracts by the year end, with the start of major works in 2013,” the Qatar Rail CEO said.

Regarding other tenders, Mohannadi said, “Qatar Rail is currently working on preparing bidding requirements for electrical, mechanical and architectural designs of the project. These tenders will also be awarded through a transparent bidding process on the basis of merit.” Qatar Rail had invited a number of tenders early this year to support the plan procurement and construction for the first phase of metro project, including a tender for consultancy services for project management to support the company in the evaluation of the firms for under the ground work.

“Very soon we will invite a tender for logistic services, that will be responsible to coordinate with the contractors to ensure pre-planning of all logistics operations effectively and efficiently to minimise disruption of traffic and pedestrians at the construction site,” Mohannadi remarked.

He said last year Qatar Rail had organised a workshop which was attended by a large number of firms specialised in carrying out rail projects.

Qatar Railways Company was founded to support and co-ordinate the growth of Qatar’s rail industry.

In addition to securing the resources, personnel and organisational requirements necessary to ensure the rail sector’s sustainability, the Qatar Railways Company will also develop the appropriate legal and legislative frameworks to ensure that all local and international regulations are met.