Dubai-headquartered contractor Drake & Scull International (DSI) said it has won a contract worth Dh110 million ($30 million) for a district cooling plant at Lusail City in Qatar.

One of the most ambitious and ground-breaking cities in Qatar, Lusail is being developed by Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company.

A regional market leader in the integrated design, engineering and construction sector, DSI said as per the contract, its engineering (mechanical, electrical and plumbing and water and power) business Drake & Scull Engineering (DSE) will design and build the plant, of 14,250 tons of refrigeration (TR), that will supply chilled water to the early completed buildings in Lusail City, by July 2015.

The scope of work includes building of plant along with all associated equipment, controls, instruments, piping and valves.

DSE Qatar will also undertake civil work for foundations, plinths, above ground concrete water tanks, and electric rooms, including 11 kV switchgear rooms, transformer rooms, LV MCC (low-voltage motor control centre) rooms and generator rooms.

DSE managing director Ahmad Al Naser said: “These are exciting times for Qatar's construction segment, which is expected to grow by 10.1 per cent by the year-end, according to a report by Business Monitor International (BMI), a leading, independent provider of proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts.

"With this large influx of projects, Drake & Scull remains steadfast in its commitment to play a major role in the industry's growth by leveraging its brand of world-class high quality services across Qatar’s current batch of high-profile projects," he added.    

Commenting on the win, Karem Akawi, the area general manager, Drake & Scull Qatar, said: "This reaffirms our engineering expertise, which has been one of our key strengths in bagging several major contracts in Qatar."

"The country is rapidly expanding its construction and infrastructure sectors in line with the 2022 Fifa World Cup and Qatar National Vision 2030 and DSI will continue to be a crucial player in contributing to Qatar’s growth and development," stated Akawi.

"In addition, we are aiming to expand into the country’s new and upcoming sectors such as rail and we look forward to playing a pioneering role in Qatar’s public transport sector," he added.-TradeArabia News Service