The opening of Tilted Interchange on October 5, 2019
The unjust blockade failed to make any effect on development projects of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) during past three years as the pace of work continues as usual according to the plans laid out.
Ashghal relied mainly on the local component, through locally produced materials and local companies, achieving a tangible boom in the country’s infrastructure sector.
About 790km of highway network have been completed, which is considered as a good testimony to the fact that the construction process was not affected by the unjust siege.
Ashghal opened most of highway network during the siege period, which caused a qualitative shift in the movement of goods and people in all parts of the country, especially in and around strategic areas, ports, Hamad International Airport, Industrial Area and other vital facilities.
The key achievements of Ashghal in road development and infrastructure projects are opening of all roads leading to Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, popularly known as the Al Rayyan Stadium and the roads surrounding Al Bayt Stadium, to ensure traffic flow in these areas and facilitate access to the two stadiums that will host a number of 2022 FIFA World Cup matches.
These two projects are providing access to bus and car parking around the two stadiums, and connect with many important arterial roads such as Al Khor Road, Al Aqdah Street, Dukhan Highway and Al Ihtefalat Street.
The unjust blockade could not stop the development of State of Qatar, as Ashghal completed the work of about 790km of the highway network, such as Al Khor Road, Al Majd Road, and Lusail Road, to name a few.
The development work also included 156 interchanges (76 multi-level interchanges and 80 interchanges with traffic signals) with over 910km of pedestrian and cycle paths along highways, as well as cultivation of greeneries on over 5 million square meters on both sides of highways, making more than 95 percent of the highway network ready to serve the 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums.
Ashghal also launched new projects such as Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor which reached an advanced stage and parts of it were opened. Parts of Umm Lakhba Intersection, Al Watiat Intersection and Makkah Intersection Bridge also opened.
As much as 95 percent works of Khalifa Avenue Project and 87 percent of Mesaimeer Intersection have been completed. Al Shamal Bridge on Duhail Intersection also opened.
Ashghal signed 10 new contracts for road and infrastructure development projects on citizens’ lands, with a total value of approximately QR4bn to serve over 8,400 housing plots in 10 areas across the country, including South Al Duhail, Umm Lakhba, Jeryan Najima, South Al Mashaf, Al Ab-Labib, Al Marad, Southwest of Al Muaither, Al Kharaitiyat, Izghawa, Simaisma West, Al Uqdah, Al Hadan and Al Khor.
The work on the projects of road and infrastructure development Simaisma West (First Package) also began recently. The project aims to develop the internal streets of the area and raise the level of safety in addition to developing infrastructure facilities to meet the requirements of the population and urban development in the future.
Ashghal’s Roads and Infrastructure Project in Doha Industrial Area (Package 3) and the Roads and Infrastructure Project in West Muaither (Package 3) won two International Safety Awards with a Merit from the British Safety Council in recognition of its commitment to keeping its workers and workplaces healthy and safe during 2019.
Ashghal won the Government Sustainability Initiative Award presented by the Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), a member of the Qatar Foundation, for applying best environmental practices in project implementation works.
Ashghal also completed the upgrade works of Al Rufaa Intersection (known as Sana Intersection) and it is fully opened to traffic within the project of the A-Ring Road Development Project, which improves the intersection capacity and facilitates movement and access to many residential areas that witness heavy traffic such as Umm Ghuwailina, Al Hitmi, Al Ghanem Al Ateeq and Doha Jadeed.
Since 2017 several projects have been completed, such as 15 schools and kindergartens in many areas of the country, 5 health projects including Muaither Health Center, Al Wajba Health Center, Al Waab Health Center, Nawfar Health Center and Al Muhakat Health Center.
Ashghal implemented 22 projects for the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs including mosques, Holy Quran learning centers, and homes for imams and muezzins.
The work started to develop five new health centers including Al Khor Health Center, South Al Wakra Health Center, Al Sadd Health Center, Al Mashaf Health Center, and Ain Khaled Health Center and construction of the National Health Laboratory building. The work of the development of Al Ruwais Health Center was completed in 2020. Three parks in Rawdat Al Khail, Al Gharafa and Umm Al Sanim were inaugurated after renovation.
The most prominent recent work was the establishment of a medical isolation hospital within 72 working hours at the request of the Ministry of Public Health and in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
As part of its efforts to maximize dependence on Qatari resources and capabilities and achieve self-sufficiency in all fields, Ashghal launched in cooperation with the Qatar Development Bank a ‘rehabilitation’ initiative. The initiative aims to rehabilitate and accredit existing national factories, in order to provide an opportunity for Qatari manufacturers to participate in the implementation of Ashghal’s programs and projects, and inclusion of national companies in the supply chain approved by the authority.
So far, Ashghal rehabilitated over 155 Qatari suppliers and approved 221 materials that are being used in infrastructure development projects. Ashghal is adding the main contractors, subcontractors and consulting offices to its approved supplier list, where in 2019 it signed seven new contracts with a total value of QR3.2bn to serve 3,090 plots of land. Maintenance and re-paving of roads with a total length of more than 500km were completed in 2019 through contracts across the country.
Under five-year plan (2018-2022), Ashghal will implement 25 plans related to the evaluation and follow-up of road safety, including achieving safety at work sites, managing traffic congestion, building an intelligent transportation system, road design safety, traffic safety.
Ashghal followed international standards to ensure traffic safety in the roads surrounding schools. Priority has been given this year to approximately 515 schools across the country. Ashghal completed until the end of 2019 the improvement of the roads around 80 percent of the total number of schools within the program to enhance traffic safety in the areas surrounding the schools.
