Qatar Rail, the company overseeing the construction of the country’s integrated railway network, showcased architectural opportunities for local suppliers to become involved with the Doha Metro station works during an awareness day held in Doha.

The day-long conference, titled “Doha Metro Architectural Finishes” was held at the La Cigale Hotel bringing together 180 current and potential partners and suppliers.

Serving as an idea and knowledge exchange platform across a spectrum of Qatar Rail’s Doha Metro partners and suppliers of architectural finishes, the awareness day took the audience through an exhaustive overview of the company’s procurement strategy and process.

The event featured discussions and presentations by Qatar Rail’s procurement and architecture departments.  

Kaldoon Truman, the senior director of Contracts and Procurement at Qatar Rail, described in detail the mechanism in which a manufacturer gets selected besides the various contract management terms and conditions, architectural finishes, tender course of action and timelines, and general projects timescales.

Mohamed Timbely, the senior director of Architecture and MEP at Qatar Rail, followed Truman with a presentation on materials and finishes and element technical specifications and requirements for the Doha Metro’s 37 stations.

He also discussed about Qatar Rail’s architectural branding guidelines; the selection of materials for the stations mock ups; the materials acceptance criteria; and the status and opportunities pertaining to materials and FF&E (Furniture, fixtures, and equipment).

Through an interactive Q&A session, the conference also opened the floor for supplier queries on procurement and manufacturer approval processes.

"At Qatar Rail, it is really important that we build long term relationships with local suppliers to ensure that they have the opportunity to become part of this exciting project that comes in alignment with Qatar’s National Vision 2030," stated Timbely.

"Events of this sort give local companies a great chance to become aware of the tenders and contracts which we will be issuing in both the short and long terms and they attract a very good attendance," he added.

The first phase for the Doha Metro’s architectural works, covering 37 stations, is set for completion by 2018 while the second, extending to over 72 stations, by 2030.-TradeArabia News Service