Many times, people living in Qatar have heard about roads being submerged in water as an aftermath of heavy rains. A major reason for this is the inadequacy of the country’s drainage system.
But in the last few years, Qatar has been concentrating on improving its drainage system.
As part of these plans, Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the commencement of excavation of a 10km-long outfall tunnel as part of Mesaimeer Pumping Station and Outfall project, reported Gulf Times.
#Ashghal starts excavation of the outfall tunnel linked to the Mesaimeer Surface & Storm Water Drainage Tunnel, yesterday 3 Feb 2019, as part of Mesaimeer Pumping Station & Outfall project #Qatarhttps://t.co/HM1RlouPoX
— هيئة الأشغال العامة (@AshghalQatar) February 4, 2019
This marks an important step in the project — which began in May 2018 — that is expected to provide a sustainable solution for the discharge of surface and stormwater in the country.
Ashghal formally inaugurated the operational commencement of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that will be used for tunnel excavation.
#Ashghal inaugurated the operation commencement of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that will be used for the excavation of the 10 km-long outfall tunnel, which is one of the longest outfall tunnels in the world #Qatar pic.twitter.com/ZNnSTRAGiv
— هيئة الأشغال العامة (@AshghalQatar) February 4, 2019
“The commencement of excavation of the outfall tunnel is an important stage within the Mesaimeer Tunnel project, which is one of the most important ones Ashghal has ever implemented. This will accommodate surface and stormwater volumes received from the drainage networks located in different areas in Doha,” Ashghal president Dr Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.
“The water will be treated according to the highest internationally approved specifications, and then pumped 10km away from the seashore via the Mesaimeer pumping station and outfall tunnel, which is one of the longest outfall in the world,” he added.
#Ashghal President: Outfall tunnel excavation is a key stage in Mesaimeer Tunnel project which will accommodate surface & storm water from drainage networks in many areas of Doha. The water is treated & pumped 10 km away from the seashore via Mesaimeer pumping station & outfall pic.twitter.com/EShv1MmN5P
— هيئة الأشغال العامة (@AshghalQatar) February 4, 2019
The Mesaimeer Tunnel aims to discharge surface and stormwater, thereby decreasing surface water level and reducing pumping costs in construction projects around the country. It will also preserve the foundations of buildings, and reduce land subsidence due to rain, reported Qatar Tribune.
The tunnel extends below F-Ring Road for 10km with a depth of about 30M below the ground surface. This main tunnel is linked to the existing and planned drainage networks in the areas that traverse through, and will collect and discharge surface water from approximately 170SqKm of catchment area.
Eng. Khalid Al-Khayarin, Drainage Networks Projects Manager at #Ashghal: Excavation of the outfall tunnel will be at a depth of 15 metres below the seabed, which is a major construction challenge due to the variable geology & the special machine & crew required #Qatar pic.twitter.com/IMsxP7NYpe
— هيئة الأشغال العامة (@AshghalQatar) February 4, 2019
The excavation of the outfall tunnel and the construction of Mesaimeer Pumping Station is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021 at a total cost of about QR920m.
The excavation of the outfall tunnel will be done at a depth of 15M below the seabed and about 3.7M in diameter, which is considered to be a major construction challenge due to the variable geology.
The excavation will be done using a highly specialised Tunnel Boring Machine that uses a technique called ‘Earth Pressure Balance’ (EPB) and is designed to operate in a range of ground conditions in Qatar, and with the variable geology along the tunnel.
Ashghal: Mesaimeer Pumping Station & Outfall project includes a pumping station that will operate at a capacity of 19.7 cubic metres per second. Its function is to pump the water received from Mesaimeer Tunnel to the new outfall tunnel #Qatar pic.twitter.com/c6Q2JbDJ9m
— هيئة الأشغال العامة (@AshghalQatar) February 4, 2019
The second part of the project includes a pumping station with 10 pumps and auxiliary facilities. The pumping station will be located at the end of Mesaimeer Tunnel south of Hamad International Airport, said another report in Qatar Tribune.
#Ashghal will implement the excavation works using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with the Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) technique. The TBM is designed to operate in a range of ground conditions in #Qatar & with the variable geology along the tunnel pic.twitter.com/knRQQuGzYZ
The pumping station will operate at a capacity of 19.7 cubic metres per second.
#Ashghal: Video about the commencement of actual excavation of the 10 km-long outfall tunnel linked to the Mesaimeer Surface & Storm Water Drainage Tunnel, on Sunday 3 Feb. 2019 #Qatar
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