(ANSA) - Doha, March 21 - A consortium led by Italian general contractor Salini Impregilo on Monday became the first group to finish boring its assigned section of a new metropolitan system in the Qatari capital Doha.
    A 600-tonne boring machine completed the section known as the Red Line North, contracted to the ISG consortium for 1.8 billion euros.
    "It is always pleasing to come first, particularly when one is Italian," Salini Impregilo CEO Pietro Salini said. The new metro system is part of a much broader mobility project set out in Qatar's national development plan for 2030. The section dug out by ISG passes beneath the Corniche, an artificial waterfront promenade extending for several kilometers along Doha Bay, and should be operational by the end of 2019.
    Qatar is due to hold the football World Cup in 2022.