DOHA: Qatar Rail has stated that by 2018, the ambitious Doha Metro project will achieve 70% “project progress rate”.
Presently, there are as many as 37 stations of the Doha Metro project under construction with a workforce of more than 41,000 workers on site. This information was revealed during Qatar Rail’s recent third all-staff town hall meeting, attended by management and employees, Gulf Times reported.
Among its accomplishments, the project can claim that it has worked a total of 202 million man hours and achieved one of the lowest accident frequency rates (AFR) in construction in the world.
A number of significant milestones were achieved in 2016, including the recent completion of viaducts on the Doha Metro project while a few months earlier, the company celebrated the completion of all tunneling works on the project. The Doha Metro project also awarded all MEP subcontracts, with overall station completion progress reaching 46%.
Furthermore, foundations and base slabs work for all the 37 stations were completed, along with platform deck slabs on five elevated stations.
In 2018, the arrival of the first four trains in Doha is expected, as well as the dynamic testing of the first train in Japan alongside the awarding of the rail and ‘FM operator’ contracts. Another milestone will be the advancement of operational readiness preparations and the development of revenue generating capabilities, the company outlined.
At the town hall meeting the Business Transformation Programme was launched and Abdulla Abdulaziz al-Subaie, Qatar Rail managing director and chairman of the executive committee said: “We are about to embark on the most critical phase of the Rail Development Programme; we will be soon transitioning from a rail developer to a rail operator.
“We have launched a Business Transformation Programme that rests on four pillars- delivery of the programme on time, budget and quality, financial and operational sustainability, organisational efficiency and building Qatari capabilities.”
He pointed out that The Business Transformation Programme aligns with the vision of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, for Qatar’s second National Development Strategy 2017-2022, which stressed the timely completion of all infrastructure projects in the country.