The Government of Qatar on Thursday (29 June) awarded a half-million pound (sterling) contract to the international Marconi Electronics Company for the construction of a high-power transmitting station.

The signing of the contract is another major stop towards the development and expansion of Qatari mass media. The Qatar Broadcasting Station was inaugurated four years ago in 1968 with a 50 kilowatt transmitter. The new transmitter of 750 kilowatts (medium wave) will be built by the same company.

The Marconi Company won the contract from four other major international electronics concerns. Qatari Minister of Information Issa Al Kawari signed the contract on Thursday with Marconi representative Mr. Gordon Thomas.

SYNOPSIS: At the Qatari Ministry of Information last week, a contract was signed that will dramatically improve Qatar's position in the communications field. Minister of Information Issa al Kawari congratulated Marconi Company representative Mr. Gordon Thomas on his company winning the contract.

The company will now build a high-power transmitter for the Qatar Broadcasting Station. It will be fifteen times more powerful than the first transmitter run by the four-year-old Station....and thus represents a significant new development for Qatar's fast-expanding communications network.