Vinci and Alstom win 2b euros Qatar transport contract

PARIS — A consortium including French industrial groups Vinci and Alstom signed this week a two-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) contract with Qatar Railways to build a tram system for the city of Lusail. The contract won by Alstom and QDVC, which is 51 per cent owned by Qatari Diar and 49 per cent by Vinci's major projects unit, was signed on Monday at Paris' Elysee Palace during an official visit by Emir Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani. Vinci said the contract includes the construction of 25 stations and the electric infrastructure surrounding the four-line network, which is expected to stretch 33 kilometres when finished. For its 750 million euros slice of the pie, Alstom said it will deliver 35 trains along with power supply equipment, signalling and trackworks. The tramway in Qatar's newest planned city with a population of 200,000 is expected to open in 2018 with further lines added two years later.