Leading Indian engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said its automation unit has won a major order worth QR278 million ($76.2 million) from Qatar Rail Company for Phase One of Doha Metro.

The contract was awarded to L&T Electrical & Automation FZE (LTEAFZE), the competency centre for its electrical and automation business, based in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE.

The scope of the order encompasses supply, installation, testing, integration, commissioning and five years’ maintenance of a network-wide building automation and control systems (BACS) for 37 stations.

The L&T unit was awarded the contract for network-wide implementation of BACS after a meticulous assessment of its capabilities in delivering technologically advanced solutions within stringent project timelines and with distinguished quality against global automation product manufacturers.

The main aim of BACS is to control and supervise MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) systems, acquire and display MEP equipment status and alarms, provide reliable and effective third-party interfacing services, storage and offline/online analysis of MEP systems acquired data, enable testing and commissioning of the systems.

The frame agreement awarded by QRail to LTEAFZE is through nine contracts with design-and-build contractors for the stations and tunnels under multiple lines (Red, Green and Gold lines) and a five-year maintenance contract directly with Qatar Rail.

On the contract win, SC Bhargava, senior vice-president and head of E&A Business, said: "LTEAFZE’s core strengths for project management, domain knowledge and application engineering will enable us to offer distinctly superior and proven system integration solutions by leveraging L&T’s capabilities built over four decades."

"Backed by a pool of experienced engineers, LTEAFZE has the competency to provide preventive and corrective maintenance services to maximize the performance and uptime of its automation systems and control equipment," he noted.

The metro system will be built in two phases: the first will see the construction of three out of the four lines (Red, Gold, and Green) and 37 stations spanning 111 km of tunnels and 8.7 km of viaducts.

Phase One has to be completed on a fast-paced project schedule for handing over all the 37 stations by August 2018 with scheduled start on revenue period by end 2019. These lines are expected to be open to the public by 2020, said the statement from L&T.

When in operation, the project will provide an environment-friendly and sustainable mode of transport to over 600,000 commuters a day by 2021.

The second phase will be completed by 2026, and will involve the expansion of the Phase One lines, and the construction of an additional Blue Line and another 72 stations, it added.-TradeArabia News Service