Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, H E Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah, jointly inaugurating the Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor yesterday.
Doha: Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, H E Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah, together inaugurated the Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor yesterday.
The inauguration coincides with celebration of the National Day and Liberation Day Anniversary of the State of Kuwait today.
Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor extends from Hamad International Airport, south of Doha, to Umm Lekhba Interchange, (Landmark Interchange) on Al Shamal Road at a distance of more than 29km, besides the length of newly developed service roads and perpendicular roads connecting with the Corridor, total project work reaches to an approximate length of 41km.
The inaugural ceremony, which was held at Cable-Stayed Bridge, was attended by prominent guests including Their Excellencies the ministers, a delegation from State of Kuwait, Ambassadors, senior government and Ashghal officials and representatives of the companies implementing the project.
Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor is a four-lane dual carriage highway after converting the old road from two lanes in each direction and the vehicle capacity has increased from 8,000 vehicles per hour to more than 20,000 vehicles per hour on both directions. The Corridor is also an ideal alternate route for commuters along Doha Expressway & 22 February Street, which accommodates about 12,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.
Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor also includes construction of pedestrian crossings including seven bridges and two pedestrian underpasses, besides 50.5km long bicycle and pedestrian paths to ensure safe movement of people, in addition to beautification and tree plantation works along an approximate area of 355,642 sq meters.
On this occasion, Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, said: “We share the joy of our brethren in the State of Kuwait in their celebrations of National Day and anniversary of Liberation Day through the opening of Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor, which depicts embodiment of fraternity between Qatar and Kuwait, firmly rooted in the wise and visionary leadership of the two State.”
The Minister added: “The corridor will contribute in reducing traffic congestion and achieve great traffic flow, serving other means of transport such as Hamad International Airport and Metro network through integration with many major roads such as Al Rayyan Road, Salwa Road and Al Shamal Road.”
President of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Eng. Saad bin Ahmed Al Muhannadi, expressed delight in opening Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor on the occasion of celebration of National Day of the State of Kuwait. President of Ashghal pointed out that Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor comes in honour of the late Amir H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, to commemorate his memory and to express loyalty to the Amir of Humanity.
On his part, Director of Projects Affairs at Ashghal, Eng. Yousef Al Emadi, stressed that the government has spared no effort to complete the works as fast as possible using local materials in the implementation of the project at an estimated rate of 60% of works. He assured that the remaining works of the Corridor such as service roads, beautification and landscaping are being completed to deliver by the end of 2021.
Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Hassan Al Thawadi, confirmed that Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor is one of the vital road to facilitate movement of people to various World Cup stadiums, pointing out that the Corridor will not only facilitate movement, but cut the travel time to the stadiums, especially to Al Janoub Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium and Education City Stadium.
Talking to The Peninsula, Ali Mohamad Al Darwish from Highway Projects Department congratulated Kuwait on its National Day. “This is first Cable-Stayed Bridge in Qatar. We are very proud that the project was implemented under the supervision of Qatari engineers. We managed to overcome the challenges during the development of the project. The Corridor serves many venues of FIFA World Cup 2022, Al Thumama Stadium, Ras Abu Abbud Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium.”
The Corridor, he said, also connects with Al Shamal Expressway and Doha Expressway leading to Lusail and Al Bayt Stadium. “It is parallel to Doha Expressway. It will serve 20,000 vehicles per hour in comparison of 12,000 vehicles on Doha Expressway in both directions. On the other hand, the expressway contains the largest interchange in Qatar which is called Umm Lakhba Interchange (commonly known as Landmark Interchange). It has also the longest underpass and longest bridge in Qatar,” he added.
He said that the carriage way of Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor has opened fully while some service roads and exits are yet to be developed. “The project will be delivered completely by end of 2021.”
Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor project included 6,300,000 cubic metres of excavation, backfilling and paving works as well as the use of approximately 1,442,000 tonnes of asphalt and 1,520,000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete.
The infrastructure lines installed include 220km of communication lines, about 470km of power lines, 205km of drainage lines extension and about 77km of treated sewer lines. It is worth noting that 60% of materials used in these works are locally made.
The Corridor is considered the ‘lung of Doha’. It will contribute greatly to ease traffic congestion in Doha in general, especially for those coming from south to north, as the road is an ideal alternate route to Doha Expressway & February 22nd Street, with better traffic flow, as the commuter from HIA through this road will reach Umm Lekhba Interchange on Al Shamal Road in less than 18 minutes, while the same journey through Doha Expressway & 22 February Street takes about 50 minutes, which means cutting 70% of travel time.
