QRail delays bidding process for projects again, says construction to start by year-end

Qatar Rail will begin awarding contracts for the ambitious Doha Metro project, among others, “soon,” and excavation work for underground rail lines will start by the end of this year, a senior company official has said.

“Construction work for Qatar Rail project will begin by the end of 2013 and during the peak construction period, over 20,000 workers are expected to work daily until 2016,” Ahmed Nassar Al Kowsi, Logistics Director of Qatar Rail, told the Peninsula.

Tenders for the country’s planned metro system were pushed back last year when officials said they needed more time to review and evaluate the bids. In August, QRail did sign five contracts worth some $406 million for management of the lines and stations, as well as for enabling work and security.

Despite the delays and promises that project contracts would be awarded by the end of 2012, Al Kowsi told the newspaper “we are exactly on schedule.”

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