Qatari Diar and Qatar Railways Co signed a $42.5m deal with
US engineering firms Parsons and Aecom to manage the construction of a light
rail transit system, a statement said Wednesday.
The Lusail Light Rail system will feed into the Gulf state’s
Lusail City development and forms part of a larger $40bn national railway
system that will span Qatar.
The contract includes the construction of 30km of track, 24
stations, service depots and a viaduct, the statement said.
The contract forms part of state-backed Qatari Diar’s bid to
lead infrastructure and development efforts following the country’s successful
bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The country will spend about $65bn getting ready for the
event, awarded to the country in December, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
estimates.
Qatar, an emirate of 1.6 million, forecasts that its gross
domestic product will grow 21 percent this year, after a 16 percent increase in
2010.
Qatari Diar entered the US commercial property market this
week by becoming the lead investor in a $700m mixed-use development being built
in Washington.
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