gold matters n 6

Celebrating RamadanJV Team Iftar

Read more, p. 10

Employee SpotlightEarthworks, because the earth may be moved and formed into a desired shapeRead more, p. 8

Gold Matters MONTHLY NEWSLETTERIssue 06 / JuLY 2016

insideWhat’sGold Line MetroMock - up: We questioned, we created, and we can now move forward with confidenceA Mock - up is the place where we test all materials that will shape the architecture and identity of the station. The procedure to select the materials is long and requires patience, attention, wide knowledge: our super-full sample room is the proof.

Read more, p. 2

� Mock - up: We questioned, we created, and we can now move forward with confidence

� Earthworks tetraptych: Quality, Safety, On-time, Reasonable and Profitable

� Sharing is caring � Qatar Rail Football League

2016: ALYSJ JV Team in the Finals!

� Nikiforos is the Greek name of a beautiful Nepalese boy!

� Sidharth Nambiar, a beautiful baby boy was born in Doha!

� Suresh Kumar birthday: documented!

6TH ISSUE GOLD MATTERS | JULY 20162

"To create, one must first question everything", Eileen Gray“Perhaps one or two of you reading today, are actually wondering about the purpose of the Gold Line Mock up at West Bay. Hopefully after reading on you might have - while not the answer - at least a better understanding of what a Mock up is and why it is undertaken.

It has been two weeks since the Qatar Rail visit to the completed Gold Line Mock up, all the front of house material to be confirmed shortly and the positive impact can still be felt across the entire project as across the line, the JV staff gear up for the next challenge, the front of house architecture.

Whilst providing samples and developing complex photo realistic images is vital for the initial selection of materials, some Clients prefer to take this one step further by requesting full scale Mock ups for added peace of mind. And it makes a significant difference, providing an opportunity to question….

A full size Mock up using the exact construction techniques and materials that are intended for the project gives designers, contractors and the Client the opportunity to assess a three-dimensional representation, the design, and quality of which can be evaluated down to the smallest detail. Mock ups are a useful way to test buildability and help the Client make decisions on the materials. They allow the Client to compare dif-ferent combinations of materials and finishes, and assess the benefits of using one technique over another.

A perfect example of this is the hexagonal CNC carved stone, which is the ‘Historic lines’ key identity mate-rial. At the Gold Line Mock up, there was four different stone selected. Being a natural product, there can be some variation in colour and texture, which is all part of stone’s beauty, but not always obvious from samples alone.

Gold Line MetroMock – up: Progressing in Gold Line Works thus knowing exactly how the Station will look like

Although creating a Mock up may seem like an additional expense at the beginning of a project, it can actually end up costing more to skip this step, since fixing unexpected obstacles requires time and effort at site, and can adversely affect the schedule. With a Mock up, the project team is able to foresee problems and solve them before they happen on a larger scale. As an added bonus, Mock ups can help to ensure consistency in the end product.

3JULY 2016 | 6TH ISSUE GOLD MATTERS

The Mock up provided an opportunity to see what the stone will look like on a larger scale, highlight the selected stone supplier method of production, potential stumbling blocks such as geometry, and the need for additional tolerances to be built into the design.

The Mock up has also given the Joint venture the opportunity to showcase the added value which they offer to the Client through design development. An example of this is the introduction of flat hexagonal stone to all areas where cutting was required. Another, is when the angle at the focal point was modified to follow the natural angle of the hexagonal stone. Both of these simple adjustments reduce material wastage and thus cost; all the while keeping true to the design intent.

In essence, while the Gold Line Mock up was a challenge, it has become an invaluable tool for the Client and their representatives, but it has also presented an opportunity for ALYSJ JV. The team has been able to as-sess the available skill sets which exist in the region, the supply chain from both overseas and local markets, and identify the potential pros and cons of these in advance of the final design delivery and site execution.

On such a prestigious project as the Doha Metro, and more specifically our Gold Line, you must be certain that you can deliver the final product as the client imagines it. With a Mock up you bring this imagination to life.

We questioned, we created, and we can now move forward with confidence.”

Eimear McGonigle, Architect, Provisional Sums

Ramakrishnan explains Mock up details

Extracts from subcontractor shop drawing


| January 2016 | February 2016

| May 2016 | June 2016

Mock-up Timeline >>


Design, build and deliver a Station replica: a stake, a challenge, a pinnacle for the Team

“Once the detailed direction was given to provide a full scale part-Concourse Mockup in August, ALYSJ JV set upon immediately planning the design of the facility that would house the station replica. It was advised that the allocated site would be in ILPA West Bay and was formally handed over on 15th Sep-tember 2015.

In parallel, Material Acceptance meetings; led by the ALYSJ JV engineering ma-terials team, were being held with the PMC and Qatar Rail representatives to identify which materials would be presented in the Mock up. These began early September and were concluded late January. As and when materials received the green light, the construction and procurement team proceeded accordingly.

Without any provisions available at the proposed location and without a station within close proximity to supplement the activities, everything had to be built from scratch including site facilities, utilities and require-ments to support the workforce that would be mobilized for the duration of the project. The works could be divided into 5 components:

1. the site and facility itself (comprising of the offices and 2000m2 enclosed steel structure which would house the mockups)

2. the civil works (which included RC Walls/ Columns required to simulated the actual condition at the stations)

3. the full scale Concourse Mockup (including all 3 options on the finishes)

4. the public facilities (comprising prayer rooms, ablution & WC)

5. the full scale stand-alone Entrance shelter which would be located at the rear of the site (which the client later advised not to proceed).

The urgency associated with the works required the Provisional Sums team to immediately engage with all JV departments to enable the project. The incredible support received from JV Logistics, Procurement, Commer-cial, HSSE and Construction management helped to quickly mobilize the site, while the intricate FOH Design components were being developed in parallel.

The Mockup facility was ready in February 2016 for the various nominated sub-contractors to commence the first stages of the finishing works. In the meantime the various long lead items were being shipped from overseas.

Securing such high end materials for a relatively small quantity was a task in itself, given that all the suppliers knew they were competing for the same project and their inclusion beyond the mockup was not definite. This competitive environment was not always easy, and because of the duplication of similar works through various agencies, each installation team had to learn the ropes and familiarize themselves with the site setup.

Under normal circumstances, any team working within a project of this nature would quickly build a collabo-rative working relationship, however some of the specialists brought in for finishing/ supervision were from

overseas and only stayed for short durations. Due to the bespoke nature of their systems, they were also concerned about demonstrating their technical prototypes to the competition, at the same time ensuring that their best product was on display for the client to see.

Mark Beetlestone, Architect, Provisional Sums

"Coming from a predominantly Architectural background, managing the Mockup works at site level was a relatively new experience for me which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Having the opportunity to witness exactly how much work is involved through the whole supply chain and support network within the JV, made me realize how important teamwork is moving forward within a project of this scale .”

Ceiling petal


150 colleagues of all grades, worked together, created a complete miniaturized projection of a Gold Line Station, and succeeded to deliver on – time“Gold Line Station mockup was not part of the contract”, says Ramakrishnan. “But it was our Client’s request we had to execute.

Not part of the Contract means, not budgeted, not designed and without planned resources.

Moreover, with huge pressure on our shoulders to finish it fast, in some cases even threatened to terminate the JV if not accelerated and finished. Yes, the Mockup became a crucial part of the Project and for all of us working on it, says S Ramakrishnan, Provisional Sums Manager.

The two other lines have already made Mockups so it was our turn, we had to do it. Slight difference to note, though: while the Red and the Green Line spent 7 months to design and build their respective Mockups, we made it in just 4!

And no, all Doha Metro stations are not the same, so we could not imitate, copy or just fine-tune. Stations might look similar, but they have important variations in materials and colors (i.e. timber, metal, etc.), so we

had to design every detail, every surface, the concourse, the walls, the restrooms, the elevators, everything. And structure them in a unique harmonious way as per the design.

Furthermore while the other lines opted for back-to-back execution, we preferred self-performance. That was difficult and demanding, but at the end of the day, I must say it was much better: we knew exactly what we wanted to do, we designed it, we knew the materials needed, we had our own Procurement department in-house so we could proceed seamlessly, and mostly, we could adjust, correct or fine-tune progressively and not upon delivery of the final product, avoiding delays and waste of resources.

But why did we have to prepare a Mockup? What is its use?

In the first place, a Mockup is the place where we test all materials that will shape the architecture and identity of the station. The procedure to select the materials is long and requires patience, attention, wide knowledge: our super-full sample room is the proof. Because after designing the Mockup, we proceeded to tendering, received the samples, submitted them and discussed on a weekly basis with PMC and the Client, and finally shortlisted three, using them in the Mock up.

For the Client, we should choose three resembling samples that only differed in price! Not necessarily the best criterium, but that was it! Imagine that we had to do that for all and every material used in a Metro Sta-tion, from tiles, glass, ceilings, lighting, sign boards, etc. Thousands of samples were imported from Mexico, Palestine, Egypt, Portugal, Germany, Austria, various GCC countries, the UK, and many more.”

As Damien McGonigle, Architect, Provisional Sums remembers:

“it was Christmas Eve in 2015. Everybody has left ALYSJ JV offices, except our Team who were struggling to order ceilings, on the phone at 2.30 in the morning! I also recall all these Fridays and weekends, we spent working for eternal hours. Yes, for something that was not in the Contract and was requested after the Project was awarded and launched. For something we had to design from scratch: a complete perfect Station, based on real Al Sudan station dimensionally wise”.

Ramakrishnan, Provisional Sums Manager underlines:

“it might have been a considerable effort against the clock, with restricted resources as the Mock up was not included in the Project budget and it costs almost QAR 40mil. But this investment was not for nothing. On the contrary, we have benefited from this Project-in-the-Project. Everything is formed up, we know well in advance where we are heading to, in terms of architecture abd brand identity. We know the suppliers, we can cooperate and coordinate better as we both now have the experience of working together.

In addition, detailing is done well by the people who understand the job and have the experience.

150 colleagues of all grades, worked together, created a complete miniaturized projection of a Gold Line Station, and succeeded to deliver on – time.

It is a strange but at the same time, a unique fulfilling feeling: working on a large-scale Project where pouring for example, is not yet complete, while at the same time, knowing exactly how the Station will look like!”

Damien added:

“It is surely a relief for Qatar Rail, it is also a reward for all those actively involved in this Project. Not only us on site. I remember colleagues from Procurement who spent almost 6 months typing orders for different materials. When they visited the Mock up and saw the result of their job, how proud they were. Because they knew that they participated to something beautiful and important too.”

On June 16, Qatar Rail Managing Director Eng. Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie and Qatar Rail CEO, Dr. Eng. Saad Ahmed Al Muhannadi, with high QRC executives visited Gold Line Mockup in the West Bay. Project Director, Carlo Germani, and the Team welcomed them. Ramakrishnan, Mark, Eimear, Damien, Deniz, Eloisa, Pantelis, Khalid and the entire Team a bit anxious, though confident and self-confident that the outcome will satisfy the Client, waited for the “verdict”. Following a detailed tour in our Mockup and satisfied with the work, the options and the Project delivered, both QRC Officials congratulated the Team and made final selection of materials.


Final Acknowledgements

A special mention to Tassos Naoum, our much loved colleague and friend. The Mock up was built on the foundations of his hard work. He is sadly missed.We would also like to take the opportunity to thank the following people for their support in making the Mock up a success.

A Construction process, challenging and instructive at the same time!“I am really proud to be part of the Mock Up process from the beginning to the end. To tell the truth, although the construction process was chal-lenging, it was also very instructive at the same time. I have been involved in many projects before, however this has some of the most challenging architectural details.

In the Public Facilities, we worked with several different suppliers. This expe-rience taught us the importance of good coordination between suppliers, in terms of timing, scheduling, and communication. Moreover, we faced many compelling details, which were not as simple as captured in the drawings.

The Mock up experience shows us that design, procurement, construction and planning need to be well coordinated in order to ensure on-time completion of the Stations Architectural works, with Zero defect.

Personally, I have learned many things and I hope to use my experience in the actual Station works, as well as sharing them with my team members.”

Deniz Erkan, Architect, Provisional Sums

“Now that the Mock up is complete, it might be demolished”, both say bitterly.

“What they keep from all this work? The effort, the difficulties, the stake, the satisfaction, the Project per se. But also that sometimes the JV did not acknowledge the importance of the Mock up for the entire project, and did not grant the necessary care, resources and priority. And that sometimes also, it was hard to convince people to cooperate, act, accelerate the process because the Client was pressing and the success of the Gold Line also depended on the accomplishment of the Mock Up.

At the end of the day though, no hard feelings. We did our best, we reached an apex, we delivered and are ready for the next assignment within ALYSJ JV!”

Architectural Construction Team

Pantelis Aslanides, Architectural Construction Manager

Eloisa Luna, Architect

Provisional Sums Commercial/Contracts Team

Peter Bowden, Stations Commercial Manager – Christmas Eve will forever be synonymous with petal ceilings.

Lavana Vittal, Quantity Surveyor

Deepak Jindal, Quantity Surveyor

Sulaiman Alareadh, Contract Administrator

Procurement Team

Faisal Mannathodi, Senior Procurement Officer

Shafeeq KT, Procurement Officer

Engineering Materials Team

Alexandra Theodorakopoulou, Lead Architect – who led the material acceptance meetings from beginning to end. All 19 of them! Currently back in Greece, recovering from the whole process and enjoying her new-born baby boy.

Eleonora Samoili, Architect

Simay Ertekin, Architect


Technically, earthworks are engineering works cre-ated through the moving or processing of parts of the earth’s surface involving quantities of soil or un-formed rock. The earth may be moved to another location and formed into a desired shape for a pur-pose, such as backfill, recycling, etc.

As such, earthworks involve excavation, fill and backfill.

As Periklis Andris, ALYJS JV Earthworks Manager ex-plains:

“We are active and productive in 2 main branches, the 2 JV MLPAs, Al Riffa & South.

We primarily deal with:

• Production of Backfilling and drainage Material

• Management of Excavated Material

• Management of TBM Excavated Material

• Excavations

• Backfilling”

Periklis is a Geologist, specialized in Marine Geol-ogy, holding a Master’s on the subject and having started his PhD. But heavy workload do not leave him sufficient time to complete it.

38 years old, he has worked in various projects, both home and abroad, and he confesses: “Road-works are my favourites. I have been fortunate in my professional itinerary until now, like in FYROM where I managed 28 km of earthworks, but also here in Doha, in this exceptional Project. And it is not just the scale of the Project, it is mostly the daily experience and know-how acquired.

To my understanding, Gold Line is an one-in-a-life-time project: I do not think that a similar Project in the Middle East, in an exigent though, hopefully, stimulating and inspiring multinational and mul-ticultural Joint Venture, may arise in the following years. Full of chill, stress, emotions, satisfaction; thus I expect to cherish the uniqueness of our Doha Metro long after its completion!

Middle East is a challenging ground, a tough part of land. Contrary to what people may believe, we do not work on sand. We work on a rock close to the sea. And in Earthworks we strive to do more than work: we anticipate and intervene when needed or asked.

Among our missions, successfully completed, just indicatively, I would recall:

• When we were asked to get, transport and store the TBMs muck so the tunnelling pro-cess could continue seamlessly, unstoppable!

We worked hard, and now we are also proud being part of both the World Guinness Record award and the completion of tunnelling 1.5 month before planned date.

• When Qatar Rail asked us to transport and store the entire quantity of muck to the 2 Gold Line MLPAs. And this was not an easy task, it required planning, fast reaction and profes-sional reflex, and we made it. Just to give you an indication of the volume treated: 6 TBMs muck covered 150.000 m² in order to drain before storage.

In every Earthworks activity we instil and apply our tetraptych:

• Quality

• Safety

• On time

• Reasonable and profitable

The result of our tetraptych de pair with our con-stant control on resource allocation has already re-sulted to considerable resources savings.

Furthermore, on backfilling, we have established a high quality and value for money procedure to re-spond and fulfil all requests and requirements. To product and transport backfill to all 10 stations.

We are a flexible, effective, fast-act Team of 20 Peo-ple, (including 5 engineers and 9 foremen) utilizing to the max:

Employee SpotlightEarthworks tetraptych: Quality, Safety, On-time, Reasonable and Profitable

Earthworks for non-engineers might sound weird or vague, something to do with the soil, the ground, something big or small, eventually dusty and dirty. But what is Earthworks in reality and what is it in our Gold Line Doha Metro?

"To my understanding, Gold Line is an one-in-a-lifetime project: I do not think that a similar Project in the Middle East, in an exigent though, hopefully, stimulating and inspiring multinational and multicultural Joint Venture, may arise in the following years.”


• 54 trucks,

• 7 excavators,

• 2 Wheel loaders,

• 2 dozers.

Working for a JV is difficult, because of diverse cultural backgrounds. But we make it work!

Nevertheless, we need to continue the hard work. All of us. To share our previously and currently acquired know-how and experience, with the Company. To act using our brain for the sake of the whole Project, not just our exclusive area of responsibility.

Future plans, difficult to say, me and my wife Voula got married here in Doha and recently welcomed our beautiful new-born daughter also here. We live and work here. Not that we do not miss our families and friends or the beautiful changes of seasons, weather and colours in our homeland Greece. But for the time being, we stay and work here, in this magnificent project that we both want to deliver and share our part of satisfaction.

As for the future, you never know where destiny will guide us. But we know that, we would like to return to Greece.

Earthworks Team (from left to right): Angelo Gyftoulas, Site Engineer Al Riffa | Periklis Andris, Earthworks Manager | Kostas Symeonidis, Geotechnical Engineer


Muslims but also colleagues from other religions and denominations, joined the feast in Radisson Blu Hotel and shared a delicious buffet.

Relaxed, happy and in a great pre-Friday mood, 590 ALYSJers enjoyed Arabic, Indian, European specialties.

Bonding people from all grades, as no sitting arrangement was made intentionally, contributed to the suc-cess of the event. Among them, drivers, the security team, Staff, top Management, from all departments and sites, MEP and Construction, came together and celebrated the break of fasting, respecting the local, national, cultural and religious tradition.

ALYSJ kids, added a carefree, cheerful and playful touch to our event with their smiles and fun; smiles shared with their parents and friends making ALYSJ JV Team, a family.

Celebrating RamadanSharing is caring

On the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, ALYSJ JV organized an Iftar for the entire Team and their families.


ALYSJ Team coached by Lazar Pavlovich, Senior QA Manager, honored the JV football excellency tradition, and made it to the Finals.

Razak NiikweiI Amasah, Peter Tetteh Atteh, Thomas Zogblah Teye, Albert Turkson, Ibrahim Yakubu, Ezekiel Tinese Kouku Quarshie, Vincent Kwadwo Nortey, Paul Agyemfra Ampofu, Eric Boateng, Haruna Abdul Rahim, Mustapha Sulley, Hakan Secen, Sulaiman Alareadh, formed our solid Gold Team.

For Albert, Haruna, Ibrahim and Mustapha though, it was not the first time they played with ALYSJ JV – Gold Line colors: they were members of the Gold Trophy winners in Qatar National Day football tournament in 2015. A team led by a charismatic Captain, Albert.

Our players did not play alone: Top Management, Staff members, our service boys, Colleagues on the stand, boisterous enough, animated the Stadium, en-couraged the Players, and celebrated victories with unbelievable scores, such as 10-0 against the British Embassy!

On the Finals, they waved ALYSJ flags, sang African songs and enjoyed both Teams fair play.

Qatar Rail Managing Director and the CEO were pres-ent, honoring the Players, the Teams, the Sport.

But football is a game between two teams of equal dynamism, talent and technique. And at the end, only one Team wins: on Friday, June 24, it was not ALYSJ JV who won the Trophy. The long and tough path to the Finals, also during Ramadan fasting period, difficult matches with the best Qatar Rail Teams, such as Al Shaqab in the quarter finals, or even the semifinals against Qatar Rail Team (won 6-1), weighted a lot on the shoulders and feet of our Players.

Playing against Lusail LRT was not an easy task.

And our ALYSJ JV Team finished as a runner up, losing 2-1.

All the players were happy having made it to the Fi-nals, nevertheless unsatisfied and sad they lost. Most-ly, because as they said, they disappointed their Sup-porters.

Though they did not lose faith, power and determi-nation. As they all underlined, “we will win 2017 Tour-nament!”

For the 4th consecutive year, Qatar Rail organized a football tournament. Teams from all three Lines, but also representing institutions and companies, participated and competed from June 8 until June 24.

Gold MomentsQatar Rail Football League 2016: ALYSJ JV Team in the Finals!


In June 22nd, around 18.00pm, a beautiful baby was born in Gulmi district, Tamgas City, Ne-pal. Bishnu, one of our speedy smiling office assistants, our favorite Zikos, became a happy father. His wife Rinky, with the precious assistance of their re-spective families, doctors and nurses, gave birth to this cute little beauty.

Bishnu is excited but at the same time suffering, as his du-ties did not allow him to travel back home and be present to this unique family moment. Though as he proudly says: ”I am a responsible father and I am here, in Doha, far from home, to work and raise my child. I am not on holidays, I am part of the Gold Line Metro project, part of a hard-working team, who also misses important moments of family life in order to create a better quality of life to their beloved ones, offer a better future to their children by ensuring a better education. Yes, I am not close to my wife and new-born, but I am with them, thinking and working for them. And yes, I also believe, that soon enough I will go home and hug them both. My boy’s name? Nikiforos! A Greek name, meaning victorious. Because my boy is already a fighter and a winner: he made it to life with his mum, knowing that his dad is also a fighter for both of them and wins every day a more prosperous day for them three. Nikiforos was a name proposed by two Greek ladies in ALYSJ, and I liked it. A lot. Now, my family and friends and neighbors back home, will get used to call my boy with his strange but strong Greek name”.

Dear Nikiforos, your friends in ALYSJ JV wish you a victorious life full of joy, success, and prosperity!

ALYSJ Procurement Team wel-comes a nice little man!

Sidharth Nambiar, son of Sreeja Sasikumar, was born on April 29, in Doha Clinic Hospital.

His mum, Sreeja, was working while preparing herself for the most important day in her life. She has decided to stay active and creative in ALYSJ for as long as she could, not taking any days off before, because she did not want to stay home in advance, she wanted to be with us, around us, contribute to the Project with her colleagues, perform and complete her professional tasks and duties within the Procurement department, until delivery time. And when the moment comes, she would just go to the hospital and give birth to her baby.

Well, as she says, everything happened almost as planned:

“I did not rest during my pregnancy as I was directly hospitalized for deliv-ery from work, and I returned 50 days after, as per JV Policy.

Today I am so happy that I fulfill my parent dream and ambition: have a baby boy in our family.

Because it is a great blessing having a baby boy after 26 years of girls in my mother’s family. A great blessing and luck, shared with my husband’s family and of course, my 7-years old daughter”.

Dear Sidharth, your friends in ALYSJ JV wish you a blessed life full of joy, success, and prosperity!

Document Control ladies and gentlemen were excited with the return of their Manager, after a short vacation.

Mainly as the Birthday jingles were on the cards!

ALYSJ JV - DC team celebrated the cool and quick witty Birthday with a handmade special cake, great mood and fun.

Their wishes to Suresh Kumar, were straight from the heart: “every year, your birthday comes on the same day at the same time. It seems to be extremely punctual just like you. Happy birthday Dear Sir”.

So are ALYSJ JV wishes too: ALYSJ JV also wishes Happy Birthday to our smiling Suresh, happiness, health and aconex-free moments!

Gold MomentsNikiforos is the Greek name of a beautiful Nepalese boy!

Sidharth Nambiar, a beautiful baby boy was born in Doha!

Suresh Kumar birthday: documented!

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