The Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Causeway will go ahead as planned, despite having been delayed for months, Vinci president Yves-Thibault de Silguy said.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf Times, the boss of the world’s largest infrastructure company maintained the $3bn, 40km bridge was “too important to be shelved”.
“The bridge is so important in economic, political and historical sense and I know we are working and we have over 150 engineers here (in Qatar) preparing the studies and work on these studies is progressing well,” Silguy, whose’ subsidiary Vinci Construction Grands Projects has a stake in the project via a joint-venture with Qatari Diar, QDVC, said.
The construction of what is to become the world’s largest causeway, was originally supposed to begin in May of 2008 after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the QDVC-led consortium and the Qatar Bahrain Causeway Foundation on September 29. It was delayed again after the ground-breaking ceremony was postponed in the first week of January since the study needed to incorporate new provisions for passenger and freight rail tracks.
“I hope work will be able to start at the end of this year,” he added.
QDVC is also engaged in Lusail Rail Track, Sheraton Car Park Project and most recently won a 358mn-euro pumping-station project 25km north of Doha. The project in Seychelles is a 2.8mn-euro early contract involvement (ECI) luxury hotel complex, overlooking the Anse à la mouche bay.
“QDVC is a model of success on how we can work here with mutual trust and we now have projects here, in Paris and Seychelles,” said Silguy, who is leading a two-day business delegation to Qatar as the chairman of the Qatar Committee of the French Business Confederation (MEDEF International).
“Our special committee for Qatar is growing, growing, growing. I like dealing with Arabs. Our intention is to continue expanding and there are no indications to slow down this cooperation,” Silguy said.
Scheduled to meet HH the Emir today, Silguy said he would continue to maintain the French expertise can match a competitive market and would also emphasise on developing training programmes for Qatar.
The trade volume between Qatar and France stood close to a billion euros in 2008.
http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=283243&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
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