LEVALLOIS-PERRET (dpa-AFX) - French construction giant Vinci SA (VCISY) said Monday that a consortium comprising its subsidiary QDVC and French speed-train maker Alstom SA (ALSMY, AOMFF, ALS.L) has won a contract worth 2 billion euros, or $2.72 billion, for the final works phase of the Lusail light rail transit system for the city of Lusail in Qatar.
QDVC is 51 percent owned by Qatari Diar, while Vinci Construction Grands Projects owns the remaining 49 percent stake. QDVC had earlier won the first works phases for the light rail transit or LRT in 2007 and 2011.
The new contract was signed in Paris on June 23, 2014 at a ceremony attended by French President François Hollande and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, who is on an official visit to France.
The design-build contract includes the construction of 25 stations and a depot, architectural and electro-mechanical works packages and integrated project management.
For 750 million euros, Alstom will deliver 35 trains equipped with catenary-free technology, track-laying, energy supply and telecommunications as well as control systems.
The light rail system is scheduled to begin operating in 2018, with three additional lines to be added in 2020.
QDVC has completed the civil engineering works on the first phases of the infrastructure and is currently building the Pearl station, which will connect the Lusail light rail with the Doha metro system, that is also under construction. The city of Lusail, north of Qatar's capital Doha, is a new urban development with a population of 200,000.
VCISY closed Monday's trading at $19.00, down $0.08 or 0.42 percent on a volume of 26,932 shares. ALSMY closed Monday's trading at $3.62, down $0.14 or 3.6 percent on a volume of 128,155 shares.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX