Qatar has award the ALYSJ five-partner consortium a $4.4-billion design-and-build contract for the Gold Line of the Doha Metro.

The consortium is led by Greece’s Aktor and includes Turkish contractors STFA and Yapı Merkezi, along with India’s Larsen & Toubro, and Qatar’s Al Jaber Engineering.

The Athens-based Aktor will have a 32 per cent stake in the consortium while STFA and Yapı Merkezi together have a 40 per cent stake.

The Gold Line is by far the largest single construction package for the Doha Metro and one of four metro lines.

The consortium said construction of the 32-km-long tube, which will have a radius of 7.15 m, is expected to be completed by August 2018.

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

The metro, which connects the eastern and western sides of the city, forms part of the Qatar Integrated Rail project.