Atkins awarded Qatar engineering contract

Atkins awarded Qatar engineering contract

Ashghal, the Public Works Authority of Qatar, has awarded Atkins a five-year contract worth more than £65m to help with the transformation of the roads and drainage systems in Qatar's capital city, Doha. The work is a key part of Qatar's Master Plan and vision for 2030 and provides essential infrastructure in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Atkins will have a flexible team of civil and structural engineers, transport planners and urban designers working on the contract, drawn mainly from the Middle East, with support from the UK and North America. This flexibility will enable Ashghal to call upon the most comprehensive range of engineering design and supervision services as required. This agreement, for the Doha West area, is one of four packages of work which cover the whole of Qatar, awarded under Ashghal's innovative new procurement framework.

Uwe Krueger, Atkins' chief executive, said: "We have targeted investment in our Middle East business to build the breadth and depth of our expertise in the region's key growth markets. This is now paying off, as we can see from our success with Ashghal. We are delighted to be working with them to contribute to their quest to create world-class infrastructure in Qatar."

Atkins opened an office in Doha in 2002 and this month moved to larger accommodation to support its continuing growth in Qatar. The company is currently working on several key highways projects across Qatar, including the concept design of the pivotal Khalifa, Rayyan and Al Bustan roads. The company has also had a long-standing involvement in Dukhan Highway and is currently providing post contract site supervision and quantity surveying services for the project.

Atkins' staff are currently working on some of the world's most complex highways engineering projects including the design of the London orbital M25 widening scheme in the UK, preliminary bridge and tunnel design for the widening of Denmark's Køge Bay motorway and a new intelligent transport system for Atlanta, North America.

Ends

For more information:

Heath Drewett, Group finance director + 44 (0) 20 7121 2000

Sara Lipscombe, Group communications director + 44 (0) 20 7121 2000

Notes to editors:

Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading engineering and design consultancies*, employing some 17,700 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. It has the breadth and depth of expertise to plan, design and enable some of the world's most technically challenging and time critical infrastructure projects.

*It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK (New Civil Engineer Consultants File 2011) and the 13th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2011).

Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.