A diagram showing the various lines of the metro.

UK-BASED design, engineering and consulting firm Atkins has secured a contract worth £80 million ($135 million) for the multi-billion dollar Doha Metro project.

“We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the role of lead designer for the Doha Metro Gold Line in Qatar,” said a company spokesman.

Atkins was selected for the project by the consortium of contractors which is building the Gold Line on behalf of Qatar Railways Company under a contract worth $4.4 billion. The consortium comprises Greek contractor Aktor, Yapi Merkezi and STFA from Turkey, India’s Larsen and Toubro and local Qatari company Al Jaber Engineering.

The project, which connects the east and western sides of the city, forms part of the Qatar Integrated Rail project, and the Gold Line is by far the largest single construction package of the Doha Metro.

The Gold Line is most challenging of the five contract packages to be awarded for Phase One of the Doha Metro  and construction of its 32-km-long tunnel is set for completion in 2018.

The other four contract packages – Red Line North, Red Line South, Green Line and Major Stations, were awarded in May 2013 under deals valued at a combined $8.2 billion.

The metro line is being built as part of Qatar’s construction plans ahead of the 2022 World Cup.