A joint venture of Louis Berger, a US-based architectural and engineering design firm, has won a $79-million contract from Qatar Railways Company to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for all elevated and at-grade sections of the Doha Metro project.

The Doha Metro, part of the overall Qatar Integrated Railway programme, is 216 km long which is spread across four lines (Red, Green, Gold and Blue) with an estimated total construction value of $36 billion.

Approximately 100 stations are being planned along the Doha Metro, including two major stations at Msheireb and Education City.

The Louis Berger Egis Rail Joint Venture said the newly contracted sections include the Red Line North, Red Line South and Green Line, which have a combined length of 16 km.

These sections will provide a passageway to the Fifa-compliant stadiums that are being developed for the upcoming Qatar World Cup in 2022, it stated.

Commenting on the win, . James Stamatis, the president for Louis Berger's international operations, said: "We are honoured to play a key role in bringing Qatar Railways Company's vision to build one of the world's most impressive, extensive and modern metro programmes to life."

"The Doha metro will be a global model for transit programmes providing greater access, connectivity and mobility to its citizens," he stated.

The Louis Berger Egis Rail Joint Venture was initially commissioned in August 2012 to provide project management consulting services on the project.

This commission involved major underground sections, including the Gold line and major stations. In 2013, the Louis Berger joint venture also was commissioned to provide independent certification engineer services, which covered early enabling works along with utility diversions.

Louis Berger's extensive rail and transit experience also includes other signature programmes in Ankara (Turkey); Bangkok (Thailand); Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Panama City (Central America) and Mumbai (India).-TradeArabia News Service