Samsung C&T held a 50 per cent stake in the consortium constructing the two major Doha Metro stations. Reuters
Samsung C&T held a 50 per cent stake in the consortium constructing the two major Doha Metro stations. Reuters

Qatar Rail terminates main Doha Metro station builder’s contract



Qatar Rail, the body responsible for delivering the US$17.8 billion Doha Metro project, has terminated the contract of the consortium that was building its main stations.

The $1.4bn design and build contract to construct the major Msheireb and Education City stations had been awarded to a consortium comprising the South Korean builder Samsung C&T, Spanish contractor Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) and Qatar Building Company in May 2013.

But in a statement, OHL said that it had received notification of its contract’s termination within the next 14 days, citing “non-compliance of certain contractual obligations”.

Samsung C&T held a 50 per cent stake in the consortium, while OHL held 30 per cent and Qatar Building held 20 per cent.

OHL said that before its contract was terminated, the consortium had presented the clients with several points of dispute, which, under the terms of the contract, should have led to some form of negotiation of formal arbitration, rather than the termination of its contract.

The Spanish contractor also said that the reasons given for its termination “lack any legi­timate grounds”. It said that as a company it only had work outstanding to the value of €247.7 million (Dh1.04bn).

The major stations contract is a key part of the Doha Metro project. Msheireb is the central station, linking all three of the lines under construction during the project’s first phase (red, green and gold).

Education City is the starting point for the green line, and also the connection point between the metro and Qatar’s proposed long distance rail network.

A spokesman for Qatar Rail said that it has now appointed Consolidated Contractors Group to take over the project. It argued that its decision was taken on “solid contractual grounds”.

Qatar Rail stated that it would take every step to protect its rights and believes that its decision was made on solid contractual grounds.

The spokesman also said that it was working to ensure that it will “minimise delays and risks to this part of the Doha Metro project”.

He added: “Work will continue on the Major Stations project sites as planned, and discussions are under way with the subcontractors to ensure ­continuity.”

Qatar Rail recently announced that tunnelling activity was about 90 per cent complete and that the overall Doha Metro project was nearing 40 per cent completion.

In December, Markus Dem­mler, senior director of the ­Qatar Integrated Rail Project, said that progress was being made at Msheireb station, which had about 2,000 workers on site.

He told the body responsible for the delivery of the Fifa 2022 World Cup, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, that it was “one of the biggest metro stations under construction anywhere in the world”.

He added that the station would be completed by mid-2018.

The entire first phase of the Doha Metro project, which will contain 86km of tracks and 38 stations, is due for completion in 2019.

This week, Qatar was named as the second-best market globally for infrastructure investment by the construction consolutancy Arcadis. It said Qatar has the third-richest economy in the world in terms of GDP per capita, and has maintained heavy investment in infrastructure, suffering from declining hydrocarbon revenues.

mfahy@thenational.ae

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The distance learning plan

Spring break will be from March 8 - 19

Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm

Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19

Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning

Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5

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One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

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UPI facts

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Buy farm-fresh food

The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.

In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others. 

In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food. 

In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.