President of Ashghal, Engineer Nasser Al Mawlawi, with other contractors and officials during the Ashghal Expressway Projects Consultancy and Construction Contracts signing ceremony at Sheraton yesterday. Abdul Basit
DOHA: The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) yesterday announced awarding contracts worth QR7.2bn (about $2bn) to build 24 expressways across the country.
The contracts are part of Ashghal’s main road projects, which will be connected with the main streets inside and outside Doha. Once completed, the projects are expected to help ease traffic congestion.
“Today, we have signed 10 contracts including two big construction contracts. The construction contracts are worth QR3.9bn, while the remaining contracts for design, consultancy and supervision services are valued at QR3.3bn,” said Nasser Ali Al Mawlawi, President of Ashghal.
Al Mawlawi, while speaking with The Peninsula on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, said: “Ashghal has plans to invest about QR100bn over the next 10 years in building a network of well-connected roads and sewer lines across the country.”
The programme will deliver over 900km of new roads and an array of underpasses, flyovers and multi-level interchanges to enable free-flowing traffic and shortened journey times.
Although Ashghal has set a target for all its big ticket projects to be completed by the end of 2018, the deadline for the above projects has been fixed for the first quarter of 2016.
These road projects have been divided into nine major groups, which include East West Corridor, Al Wakrah Bypass, Al Wakrah Main Road, Wholesale Market Street, Mesaimeer Street, a major road between Al Asiri and Al Matar, Salwa Road Phase 3, Orbital Highway, Al Rayyan Road, Al Bustan Street (South), Furosiya Street, Al Sadd/Al Khufoos Street, Al Khor Bypass, Al Khor Expressway, Lusail (Phase 1) and Lusail (Phase 2), Al Zubara Road, Mekeines to UmmBab Link Road, Al Shihaniya to Al Jemailiya Link Road and many others.
The East West Corridor Package-1 project valued at QR1.67bn ($458m) will be implemented by J&P — AVAX SA —JV company, while the East West Corridor, Package-2 project (valued QR2.23bn, or $612m) will be implemented by China Harbour Engineering company.
The East West Corridor, under Group 1, includes approximately 11km new dual carriageway which will run from the west of the access to the Barwa development, as far as Al Matar Street south of Air Force Roundabout. With 10 projects under construction, the seven-year programme will deliver more than 30 major road projects across Qatar including new and upgraded freeways, expressways and arterial roads, a new orbital highway and truck route as well as substantial upgrades to existing roads.
Replying to questions about the problem of waterlogging during rainfall in some low lying areas, Al Mawlawi said in some places, infrastructure facilities to deal with storm and service water are absent.
As construction work on Qatar’s major road and metro rail projects is expected to go simultaneously, the existing roads will face an increasing pressure for transportation of raw materials and labourers, which may further worsen the traffic situation.
Asked if the existing road facilities are sufficient to support the logistical requirements of this magnitude, he said: “Even if it is not sufficient, we have to do it… Committees are trying to find solutions to address these problems.” THE PENINSULA
