HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti stated that Qatar's transport network will be ready for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

In a recent interview with Abdullah bin Ghanim al-BinAli al-Mohannadi, the Editor-in-Chief of the local Arabic daily Arrayah, al-Sulaiti revealed that five bus stations have recently been constructed. 

These include Al Sudan (first to launch this year), Lusail, Al Wakra, Industrial Area, and the Educational City, which are ready to deliver in arrangement with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). The remaining stations - Msheireb, Al Gharrafa, and West Bay Central, will be operational before the World Cup.

The construction works are ongoing for the four bus depots at Al Wakra, the New Industrial Area, Lusail, and Al Rayyan. It is expected to be handed over by Ashghal for operation during the third quarter of 2022 - equipped with 650 electric charging stations.

The station’s infrastructure works and docking of the marine ferries are to be completed within the third quarter of 2022. This concludes all of the transportation infrastructure ensuring Qatar is prepared for the World Cup.

He said that the Ministry of Transport, in coordination with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, has devised a plan to apply Transport Demand Management (TDM) and evaluate its efficiency. The goal is to lower the traffic loads not related to the events of the World FIFA Cup 2022 and afterward.

This plan aims to avoid using an expensive short-term infrastructure during the tournament, reducing the requirement of private transportation, reducing traffic congestion & delays, enhancing the available infrastructure & service quality, improving the efficiency of public transportation, on top of encouraging the use of sustainable ways of transport like walking and cycling, and suspending work at crowded locations during major championship moments.

To guarantee the effectiveness and success of the transport plans throughout the World Cup - joint work teams have been activated with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, stating the roles and responsibilities of strategic partners, including Ashghal, the Ministry of Interior, Mowasalat Company (Karwa) and Qatar Railway Company.

Among the 26 scheduled projects, 12 are to be applied during the World Cup and distributed among several government entities with the Ministry of Transport executing three of these projects. Moreover, there are 14 projects to be implemented after the World Cup, of which nine are assigned to the Ministry.

The tournament projects promote public transport such as the metro, buses, and trams by providing free tickets to ticket holders, the Park and Ride project that limits parking in congested areas, and another currently under study that gives certain incentives to private vehicles that carry more than three passengers while taxing single-passenger cars and taxis.

The public transportation system is moving toward using cleaner energy as well. For example, 25% of the World Cup-eligible buses will be electric, while 75% of the fleet will be fuelled by environmental-friendly diesel (Euro 5). Once the event is over, public transportation buses are set to become electric in 65% of cases by 2023, 86% by 2028, and 100% by 2030. Moreover, the electric buses will operate in schools and the Metro.

? جاسم بن سيف السليطي وزير المواصلات في حوار شامل لـ الراية :
شبكة النقل العام جاهزة قبل مونديال 2022
⬅️ يجري حاليًا تسلم 5 محطات للحافلات
⬅️تسلّم محطات مشيرب والغرافة ومحطة الخليج الغربي المركزية.. قريبًا #جريدة_الراية
للتفاصيل : https://t.co/LBBkQIJn72 pic.twitter.com/5310h45heI

— الراية القطرية (@alraya_n) February 27, 2022

al-Sulaiti stated that the prices for public transportation will remain the same throughout the year. Among the 25 stations in Lusail Tram, only six are operational, the remaining will gradually open this year.

Regarding the expansion of Hamad International Airport, he declared that at its first phase of expansion, the airport will accommodate 58 million travelers a year, and this phase will be completed by the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The second phase of expansion will commence right after the championship, and the airport capacity will increase to 60 million passengers annually.

Also, the broad development process of Doha Port is nearly complete. He said there will be new pedestrian tracks, shops, cafes, a fish market, as well as a station for receiving big tourist ships.

al-Sulaiti also stated that the Ministry has invested around QAR 66.5 billion to develop the Doha Metro Network, QAR 13.5 billion on the Lusail Tram, and QAR 4 billion to develop the electric buses and their infrastructure.

On the rail project connecting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Qatar, al-Sulaiti expects it to become the main component of the GCC railway network that transports goods and passengers. He said that the required groundwork to start implementing the project is completed by the ministry in coordination with other entities.

The groundwork includes detailing the link track, preparing engineering designs & tender documents, and updating the schedule and work plan. The announcement for the project tender is expected within 2022.

Regarding the latest developments of transportation among the GCC countries, he said that Qatar, as a member of the Gulf bloc, works with its general secretariat to have the projects related to the country implemented for the sake of integrated transportation among the member states, including the railroad line spanning 2,117 kilometers.

Several technical projects are also underway to improve traffic safety and efficiency throughout the GCC, as well as to introduce unified rules for land transport among the GCC countries.

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Image credit & Source: Gulf Times