GREEK-LED GROUP SIGNS 3.2 BLN EUR CONSTRUCTION DEAL IN QATAR

Greece's biggest construction group Ellaktor said on Thursday it signed a 3.2 billion euro ($4.4 billion) contract to build a subway line in Qatar. Greek-led group signs 3.2 bln eur construction deal in Qatar Thu, Apr 24 12:20 PM EDT * Ellaktor leads Alysj joint venture in Qatar deal * Joint venture to build subway line in Doha * Greece's biggest builder expands abroad to offset local slump ATHENS, April 24 (Reuters) - Greece's biggest construction group Ellaktor said on Thursday it signed a 3.2 billion euro ($4.4 billion) contract to build a subway line in Qatar. Ellaktor, which has been expanding its foreign business to cope with an economic crisis at home, said in an Athens bourse filing it owned a 32 percent stake in joint venture Alysj, which won the "Gold Line Underground" project in Qatar's capital city of Doha. Construction of the 32-kilometre long tube is expected to be completed in 2018, Ellaktor said, boosting the company's construction backlog of currently 3 billion euros. The firm did not reveal its joint venture partners in the Qatar project. Foreign operations, mainly in the Balkans and the Middle East, account for about a third of the company's backlog. Once a major driver of the Greek economy, construction has slumped by more than 75 percent due to austerity policies imposed on bailed-out Greece by its international lenders. But the prospects of Greece's construction industry are improving after public finances stabilised and the country returned to bond markets earlier this month. Titan, the country's biggest cement maker, said it expected demand for cement to grow this year for the first time since 2006, on the back of public investment. Ellaktor is participating in a 7.6 billion euro toll road project that Greece unfroze in recent months. ($1 = 0.7231 Euros) (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Harry Papachristou and Elaine Hardcastle) ============= Qatar Rail sees delivery of first tunnel boring machine By: Shabina S. Khatri | 1 hour agoView as "Clean Read" | 2 Comments 284 SHARES EmailUPrint Qatar Rail The first of 21 massive tunnel boring machines (TBM) to be used to dig parts of the Doha Metro has arrived in Qatar. The TBM, named “Lebethra,” was made in Germany and will be put to work on the Red Line North, along with three other soon-to-arrive machines named Al Khor, Al Mayeda and Al Bidda. QRail Some 10 stations are expected to be completed for the Red Line North and eight stations for the Red Line South in the first phase of construction. It and parts of the Gold and Green lines will open to passenger traffic in 2019. How it works The TBMS will be used to cut circular holes in the ground beneath Doha for all the lines. Previously, Qatar Rail officials said all 21 machines would be working by 2015, adding that residents may feel “minor vibrations” during work. In a statement, the company said: “TBM Lebretha will travel a distance of approx. 7.954 km and will take approx. 22 months to complete – between Q3 2014 to Q2 2016). The average speed will be between 14m/day to 21 m/day, depending on ground conditions. And its daily excavation quantity will be approx. 680m³, with a predicted total excavation quantity of 5,408,720m³. Each of the TBMs for the Doha Metro measure 7.05m in diameter and 120m in length, therefore to ensure transportation was successfully managed, TBM Lebretha was dismantled into 22 sections which were easier to transport including the cutter head.” Lebethra is currently in the process of being reassembled after journeying to Qatar and is supposed to become operational in the third quarter of this year. It will work at the launch site of Al Wahda, next to the Qatar Exhibition Center. In addition to the four TBMs that will be used on the Red Line North, Qatar Rail explained in a statement the distribution of the other machines for the first phase of the project: •Red Line South will receive 5 TBMs; •Green Line will receive 6 TBMs; and •Gold Line will receive 6 TBMs. Thoughts? ================ Announcement of Important Fact ELLAKTOR informs the Investment Community that its subsidiary AKTOR, as the leader of ALYSJ JV, with percentage of 32%, signed the contract for the design and construction of the project “Gold Line Underground” in Doha, Qatar. The project forms part of Qatar Integrated Rail Project and the Gold Line is by far the largest singular construction package of the Doha Metro. The value of the contract is Euro 3.2bn including an option for the client of Euro 770m. The route of the Gold Line traverses Doha, Capital of the State of Qatar, from East to West. Key figures include: - Total of 32km bore tunnelling with diameter of 6 metres - Tunnelling lined with approximately 128,000 segments - 6 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) utilised simultaneously - 13 underground stations fitted out with high-end finishes and state of the art MEP systems - 2.5 million m3 of excavation for the stations - 1 million m3 of concreting - Project includes traffic and utility diversions. The project duration is 54 months and is due to be completed August of 2018. This project reinforces Aktor’s presence in Qatar and the Middle East as well as the strategic positioning as a leading international contractor. Kifissia, 24/4/2014 ==========================