These have included a $1.16bn deal to a QDVC/Bin Omran joint venture and a $1.7bn contract to HLG/Al Jaber Engineering for the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route.

The organisation also awarded $2.1bn of deals on the Doha Expressway to a group of local and international contractors including Six Construct, Qatar Construct, Dogus Holding, Onur, J&P Overseas and Boom Construct. A further $800mn worth of deals on the local roads and drainage framework were awarded to contractors including Qatar Contracting, Kuwait’s Combined Group and Sacyr Construction.

Ashghal also awarded a further $2bn worth of deals to a framework of 75 different consultants and contractors for Doha Expressway work, and last month said that it had started work on the Mesaimeer Ground and Surface Water Tunnelling Contract. This will see a 9.7km-long tunnel built to depths of up to 30m, which will link to a new pumping station close to Hamad International Airport. The work is being carried out by Salini Impregilo, with CDM Smith as consultants.

Al Mawlawi said last month that Ashghal has signed around $10.6bn of Expressway deals – $5bn are on site and the rest will start in 2014.