Qatar's $1bn 'subsea' tunnel

Qatar is spending billions on its future

Qatar once again proves it's serious about bolstering its infrastructure by announcing it will go ahead with plans for a US$1 billion, 12-kilometer subsea tunnel that will link the capital's new airport with the financial center.

One of the regions, let alone the country's, most ambitious road projects to date, the tunnel will run under Doha Bay in the capital and link to the city's new US$11 billion airport that is due for completion in 2011.

With the city expanding at a rapid rate, it is hoped that the tunnel will reduce commuting time and help ease traffic congestion. Initial designs for the tunnel indicate that it will cater for three traffic lanes in each direction.

A typical project?

While no decision has been made over who will headline the project, it is believed that Public Works Authority (Ashghal) will become involved at a later stage to oversee the detailed design and construction.

Ali al-Abdullah, Director of Planning at the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, said a consultancy was looking into ways to revamp the entire Corniche area.

"We have assigned an international consultancy to assess the situation and look into how they can redevelop the area."

A Qatar ministry official was quoted as saying, "It's not clear how the government will choose to implement this project. I'm not sure it will be treated as a typical project.

While the project has been discussed since 2008, the undersea tunnel is believed to have been more feasible than a bridge across Doha Bay and a tunnel running under the Corniche.

Qatar, which is one of the world's third-largest natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran, is budgeting US$20 billion for road projects over the next five years. As a massive exporter of LNG, it is putting its multi-billion profits into a string of major infrastructure projects including a large hospital complex and the Musheireb project in Doha.

The country's exports have been doing so well, the central bank announced last month that the economy was expected to grow by an astounding 16 percent.

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