AKTOR was the leader of the multinational Joint Venture “ALYSJ” which undertook the Design and Construction of the “Gold Line Metro” project in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The Gold Line project is by far the largest singular construction project of the Doha Metro.

The project included the construction of a 23.3 km long underground tunnel with a diameter of 6.17 meters, as well as of 10 underground stations, with high-end architectural finishes, high technology automations, complex smoke exhaust systems in case of fire in the stations, as well as state of the art MEP systems. In addition, the project involved the construction of an underground depot with a total length of 650 m. and a central cooling plant for three of the stations.

Also known as the “Historic Line”, the Gold Line crosses Doha from East to West, along the lines of the old city of Doha. The project was designed to support the underground transportation system of Central Doha and is part of Qatar Integrated Rail Project and of the new transportation system promoted by the country within the framework of Qatar National Vision 2030. In terms of architecture, the stations have been designed to refl³ect the cultural heritage of Qatar, with “vaulted spaces” and inspiration by traditional Bedouin tents.

The implementation of this extremely complex and demanding construction in the heart of Qatar’s capital required the simultaneous utilisation of six (6) Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM). Tunnel boring was carried out on karst limestone with voids within the underground water-table, while, for the safe navigation of TBMs and the early detection of voids or cavities, an advanced technology tracking system (ΒΕΑΜ) was applied on the TBMs’ cutter heads. The project involved 108,892 precast concrete elements for the lining of the tunnels, the excavation of 4.9 million m³ at the stations, the incorporation of 1 million m³ of concrete, 171,403 tons of steel reinforcement, as well as a large number of traffic detours and shifts of utility networks. Moreover, due to the presence of large groundwater inflows in the area of Doha, the project required the pumping of a total 129 million m³ of groundwater for the construction of the stations.

All works for the Gold Line Metro Project were carried out according to the highest standards and, as in every project of AKTOR, top priority was given to Health, Safety and Environment provisions. Finally, sustainable design was further ensured with the application of the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), a specialized methodology adapted to the Gulf’s unique environment.