More than 15 years of activity endorse FCC Construcción’s commitment to Qatar. A commitment developed with the design and execution of key projects for the country and for its capital Doha.
The activity of the company, already considered a local company, began with the Barzan urban development project in Al Wajba, 15 kilometres from Doha. The urban development, close to the Doha-Dukhan highway, included the demolition of existing buildings and pavements, as well as the removal of old services and the restitution of affected services, lighting systems, high and low voltage distribution networks and water pipelines. FCC Construcción built 16 electrical substations of five different types.
It continued to develop key projects for the mobility of the country and its citizens. It designed and built the Lusail footbridges, which were part of the new city of Lusail, a new urban development located some 13 kilometres northwest of the city of Doha.
Two almost identical pedestrian bridges were built with spans of 30 metres, 60 metres formed by four 30-metre-long oval sections. A real architectural and engineering challenge. Each tower was connected to the central span by ten pairs of cables attached to the inner edges of the adjacent oval sections. These cables are balanced by retaining brackets anchored outside the structure plus a pair of cables joining at the centre of the main span.
The architectural concept aimed to create a unique recreational space above the artificial canals that separate the man-made Qetaifan islands. A challenge achieved thanks to the involvement of the FCC Construcción project team.
FCC Construcción and its key role in the design and construction of the Doha Metro
The project developed by FCC Construcción included the construction of the elevated section of the RLS red line in the Qatari capital as a continuation of the RLS Underground red line, to the east of the city and parallel to the coast. This is a 6.97-kilometre section of metro line, with three elevated stations (named Barwa Village, Al Wakra and Qatar Economic Zone), running mostly elevated over the median of Al Wakra Main Road, 220 metres above ground.
Three elevated stations (Barwa Village, Al Wakra and Qatar Economic Zone) were built and the highway was buried under the Al Wakra station.
The Qatar Economic Zone is an elevated station after the junction with the F-Ring, for a future connection to the Doha Expressway project which features pedestrian access from Al Wakra Main Road.
Barwa Village Station is located at the intersection with the branch line accessing the Depot. It has two levels of side platforms (one elevated and one at ground level) with pedestrian tunnels on both sides of the street of about 350 linear metres in length.
Al Wakra North Station is an elevated station with a 120-metre platform. It has two side entrances on both sides of Al Wakra Road. The station is located above the Al Wakra Highway underpass.
The main construction system is by means of prefabricated span-by-span segments placed using two launching shoring systems. The viaduct piers have an average height of 15.00 metres and are of variable square section.
It is a project that has won several awards, including the Agustín de Betancourt Award (2019) as the Best International Project or Best Metro in the World 2018 awarded by ENR Global Bests Projects (2019).
The construction of the Doha Metro will connect the population within the city and with its immediate periphery. The project’s role as an urban and social connection is key. It is an integrating element in three areas: social, urban and territorial.
In addition, it is a backbone of the country, not only for Doha but also for the World Cup, since some of its facilities will serve as access to the sports complexes, accompanied by an iconic design that is representative of the country’s culture.
The section built by FCC as part of the Red Line has been one of the sections with the greatest progress in terms of the total number of sections that various international construction companies have built. It has undoubtedly played a key role in the development of the Football World Cup held in Qatar.
With the design and execution of this type of infrastructure projects, the company demonstrates its commitment to the country, to its economic and business growth and to the development of projects that position Qatar as an innovative, sustainable and pioneering urban model.
