Qatar Rail said the work at the Doha Metro line was progressing well with the tunnelling phase on track for completion by 2017. It announced the successful relaunch of its tunnel boring machine (TBM), Al Mayeda, at the Corniche station of the Doha Metro’s Red Line following repair work after a flooding incident.

Arcadis, one of the world’s leading natural and built asset design and consultancy firms, has won a €20-million  ($22.5 million) contract to provide architectural, branding, design and construction consultancy services for the Gold Line of Doha Metro in Qatar.

The cost of construction materials in Qatar is likely to jump as the host nation intensifies infrastructure building ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and other building projects could finish late as a result, industry experts said.

Leading international companies including French group GDF Suez, Singapore-based Hyflux, leading Spanish water technology company Valoriza and consortiums of Spain’s Abengoa and French group Veolia are in the race for a $1-billion water desalination project in Oman.

Work is due to start on a new British naval base in Bahrain, which aims to deter regional threats and maintain security in the Gulf and wider region. UK Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond signed a memorandum of understanding with Bahrain’s government in December to set up a permanent naval base in the country.

Work on Oman’s first sugar refinery will begin soon, setting in motion the development of an ambitious food cluster at Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone.

The Jahra Road Development Project in Kuwait City has marked key milestones under its various phases of construction, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Works.

Oman Rail has issued tenders with a view to appointing an independent safety assessment (ISA) consultant for delivering a safe and reliable national rail network, a report said.

Qatar Foundation Stadium, one of the proposed host venues for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, has achieved the one-million-man-hours safety mark without lost time injury.

Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has invited bids from leading contractors for the construction of a new 250-bed hospital near Qatar University in Doha, said a report.

German industrial group Siemens has signed an €8-billion deal ($9 billion) with Egypt to supply gas and wind power plants designed to boost the North African country’s power generation by 50 per cent.

Nine local and international consortiums, led by leading port and logistic services providers, are in the race to prequalify for a high-profile contract to operate and maintain (O&M) Oman’s first ever dry port, said a report.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, last month laid the foundation stone for a housing project in Sitra that will provide 5,000 units and various services and facilities. The ceremony was held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and organised by the Ministry of Housing.

Oman has signed agreements worth around RO11 million ($28.4 million) for construction of 176 residential units for citizens in the governorates of Al Dhakiliyah and South Al Sharqiyah, a report said.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has received government approval for its Line 6 expansion project, which will cost $3.5 billion and on completion make it the world’s largest single site smelter. The project is expected to boost the company’s annual output by 514,000 tonnes to 1.

Hochtief ViCon awarded metro deal Hochtief ViCon, a leader in the field of virtual construction and building information modelling (BIM), has been awarded a contract involving work on the Doha Metro project in Qatar.

A three-stage international design competition was launched last month in Qatar in a global search to pick a designer for a world-class art gallery that will rise on a historic waterfront site in the centre of capital Doha.

Hyder Consulting, which has been commissioned by Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) to design and supervise a new six-lane expressway project in Doha, said it used intelligent 3D modelling and Autodesk software to overcome complex design challenges.

SSH Qatar has been awarded a contract by E’emar Development & Real Estate Investment to provide professional design services for a new luxury retail complex to take shape at the heart of Al Wakrah in Qatar.

The foundation stone was laid last month for the Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Specialist Cardiac Centre in Awali, Bahrain. Work on the BD40.3-million ($105.3 million) state-of-the-art medical facility, which covers 44,000 sq m, is expected to be completed within 36 months.

Plans are under way to turn a highly congested road leading to Bahrain International Airport (BIA) into a highway. The Airport Avenue, which starts from the entrance of Busaiteen and ends at BIA, suffers major tailbacks throughout the day with reports of motorists getting stuck for at least 40 minutes.