Vinci wins Qatar road contract

French construction company Vinci has been contracted to design and build a new motorway in Qatar.

The € 850 million (US$ 1.2 billion) contract was awarded to a joint venture led by QDVC, a company comprising 51% local developer Qatari Diar and 49% Vinci Construction Grands Projects, and including Qatari Bin Omran Trading and Contracting. The JV has been awarded the second works phase of the New Orbital Highway. Work will commence in May and is scheduled for completion in 36 months.

The New Orbital Highway will span 200 km in total and will skirt the Qatar’ capital city of Doha. The motorway will connect the new port of Doha with Ras Laffan, the gas-producing industrial city in the north of the country. The highway will bypass Doha and relieve current traffic congestion while preparing to accommodate projected road traffic increases.

The Vinci contract includes building 47 km of motorway, as well as six viaducts, 17 bridges and underpasses and a 320-m cut-and-cover tunnel. This motorway section will have a five-lane dual carriageway for light vehicles and two truck lanes in each direction.

Vinci Construction Grands Projets, through QDVC, has become a major player in the Qatari construction market. The company is currently working on the southern works package of the Doha metro's red line, the light rail project in the new city of Lusail and the Sheraton underground car park and landscaped gardens in the heart of the West Bay business district.