National Day/ Transport Minister to QNA: QND is Occasion to Renew Determination to Build Modern Country Adheres to Its Heritage

Doha, December 16 (QNA) - HE Minister of Transportation Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti affirmed that the National Day of the State of Qatar is a cherished annual occasion in which the people of Qatar renew determination to complete the ancestral march to build a modern country looking forward to the future and adhering to its heritage and its ancient past. In statements to Qatar news agency (QNA), His Excellency extended his warm congratulations to HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, HH the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Thani, and to the wise government and the people of Qatar. His Excellency explained that this year's celebration of the National Day is exceptional in the history of the country, whose name has always been associated with all the historical and exceptional achievements, especially since this year's celebration coincides with the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which the State of Qatar has succeeded by all measures in organizing this global event and presenting it to the whole world in the best possible way. His Excellency added that over the past years, the people of Qatar used to celebrate this occasion with the participation of their fellow residents, but this year the whole world, with its different cultures, is celebrating the National Day with the Qatari people under the slogan "Our Unity is the Source of Our Strength", pointing out that the importance of this exceptional event, as it comes as a culmination of a career that has spanned more than ten years full of achievement and development in various sectors in order to successfully host this global event. His Excellency continued that while the world champion is crowned with the most popular championship, the Qatari people celebrate the success of their country and its wise leadership in adding a new achievement to the record of its historical and exceptional achievements, namely the organization of the football World Cup. HE the minister explained that this precious occasion is an opportunity to renew the determination to continue building on previous achievements, and to exert all efforts to elevate the nation and support the process of development and comprehensive renaissance, and achieve further development, growth and prosperity for the Qatari people, in addition to showcase the tremendous achievements and successes that have contributed to strengthening the position of the State of Qatar at the international level in comprehensive and sustainable development. His Excellency noted that the ministry will continue its efforts to provide a special system for the transport sector in accordance with the highest and latest international specifications and standards to provide safe and reliable services, and contributes to the economic and social development, quality of life and environmental sustainability in the State of Qatar, stressing that the Ministry of Transport is moving forward in translating the visions of the wise leadership in the advancement of the State of Qatar and continuing the great developments it is witnessing in all fields. In terms of the achievements of the Ministry of Transport, HE the minister stressed that the State's victory in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has contributed significantly to accelerating the pace of sustainable development processes in the country, in line with achieving the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030. His Excellency underlined that since the announcement of Qatar's hosting of the World Cup, all the efforts of the State have been directed towards providing an honorable global model in all business that reflects the great potential of the State in hosting major sporting events, and at the same time leaves a real legacy for the rising and subsequent generations, and what the country witnessed at the well-organized opening ceremony is the best proof of this, as Qatar provided a role model in organizing major world events, he explained. HE the minister underscored that the World Cup was an important opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the transport and communications sector in Qatar and the extent of the development of these means, as this tournament allowed visitors to Qatar to get a closer look at the high levels of this vital sector, in terms of road infrastructure, clarifying that the ministry has prepared preliminary engineering designs for a number of road networks, including identifying programs, priorities and timetables for their implementation in coordination with the concerned authorities. His Excellency noted that the total length of the road network exceeded 12000km, including the transport network specified for the World Cup with a total length of 2100km related to all stadiums, containing bridges and tunnels, in addition to footpaths, and bicycles paths to promote a healthy lifestyle for all visitors and residents on the land of the country. The public transport sector has also emerged, which has been developed to be an integrated, sustainable, environmentally friendly and multimodal sector that adds an exceptional experience for its users, as the ministry has developed the Public Bus Infrastructure Program, which consists of 8 stations and 4 bus depots strategically distributed to cover all regions of the country and supported by more than 650 electric charging stations for the purpose of operating electric buses, the program also includes parking and transportation to serve public transport users and support mobility operations, in addition to the development of more than 2300 bus parking stands distributed inside and outside Doha, designed according to for the highest international standards and the latest types of sustainable technology in line with the identity of public transport All components of this program contributed to the operation of the public transport bus fleet, which amounts to about 4000 buses, including 3000 buses to serve the World Cup event, in addition to the important and effective role of the Doha Metro and Lusail tram, as well as electric buses, which supported the state's efforts to produce this exceptional Championship by reducing carbon emissions. The ministry revealed the strategic role of Hamad Port in ensuring the smooth flow of goods and materials to the local markets to meet the requirements of the championship, pointing out that the number of ships coming to Hamad Port during the period from Nov. 18 to Dec. 10t reached 109 multi-type vessels from container ships and Ro-Ro ships, while the number of ships coming to Ruwais port reached 76 multi-type vessels, and these ships handled 85.308 modular containers, more than 100.000 tons of general cargo, in addition to handling 5233 units of equipment and cars, and 12.227 heads of cattle. In the same context, His Excellency explained the contribution of the redevelopment project of Doha port, carried out by the Ministry of Transport, to enhance its capacity to receive the largest cruise ships in the world, as it receives three floating hotels during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, to be a witness for visitors to the importance of this facility in supporting tourism. In order to achieve the ministry's vision of making the transport sector environmentally friendly, the Ministry of Transport has launched a gradual transformation strategy for electric vehicles, which includes plans to gradually convert public transport buses to 100% electric buses by 2030. The first stage of this strategy was completed by providing more than 25% of the bus fleet for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to be electric, in addition to adopting a policy of using pure diesel fuel equivalent to the European classification (EURO-5) for all buses and trucks that will be imported to the State of Qatar, starting with the models manufactured for the year 2023. HE the Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti noted that the Public Bus Infrastructure Program has become considered one of the most environmentally friendly programs in the world, and acquires great importance as it accompanies the start of the championship, and among the components of this program is the Lusail Bus Depot, which won the Guinness Award, as it is the largest electric bus depot in the world, with a capacity of about 500 buses, as well as this warehouse is the first bus depot in the Middle East that relies on solar energy sources and is characterized by containing about 11.000 units of solar panels generating an energy of 4MW per day to supply warehouse buildings and facilities with the necessary capacity, in line with the objectives of the Qatar's National Environment and Climate Change Strategy, which achieves the vision of the wise leadership and the objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030. This warehouse also has a special section for electric high-frequency buses, which are the latest public transport in the State of Qatar that was put into operation during the World Cup. In addition, the Doha Metro and Lusail tram are electric-powered public transport systems, as well as the second container terminal at Hamad Port is equipped with the latest environmentally friendly equipment and equipped with the latest technologies based on environmental sustainability and clean energy, thus enhancing Hamad Port's position as the largest environmentally friendly project in the region. The ministry revealed that the number of buses during 2022 will reach about 4000 buses, including 3000 buses dedicated to the services of fans of the World Cup, and the fleet of the championship buses includes almost 900 carbon-free electric buses, including 90 new electric buses (minibuses) for Metrolink services, in addition, 10% of the championship buses are equipped with elevators and spaces for wheelchair users. These electric buses will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of planting more than 12.000 trees a year, and besides, more than 16 large-scale trial runs have been carried out to simulate the transportation of the largest expected numbers of passengers during the World Cup. During the period from Nov.18 to Dec. 8, buses transported more than 5 million visitors and fans, including buses (public transport buses, Metrolink buses), while the total number of taxi trips reached, during the same period, approximately 196.000 trips, as well as the number of trips registered by passenger and limousine transport companies through electronic applications reached more than 5.351 million trips from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8. In the same regard, the ministry revealed the increase in the capacity of the Metro system by adding 35 trains to the Metro fleet, and merging trains, in addition to reducing the waiting time on all lines. The Doha Metro currently operates a fleet of 110 modern passenger trains with all means of comfort and safety, and a train consisting of 6 trailers put into operation on the red line to double the capacity to more than 1000 passengers per train, in addition to extending the service hours to 21 hours a day from Saturday to Thursday, and reducing the waiting time to 165 seconds after each train, and 20 additional devices for purchasing trip cards and 35 additional reader devices have been installed at the gates at stations connected to stadiums and main event Areas. Work has also been carried out to improve and provide passengers with a comfortable transportation experience by installing 23.950 additional pieces on the railway tracks and rehabilitating 95.6 kilometers of network tracks, in order to reduce noise and vibrations inside the trains, and extend the life of equipment and network assets. HE Minister of Transport said that with the network operating at maximum capacity, effective crowd management is a key element to ensure the safety of the network and users. Therefore, a dynamic model was developed to predict the expected demand for Doha Metro services and facilities. 37 operational plans for each station of the Doha Metro network were developed and tested, as well as 7 plans for the seven Lusail Tram stations currently operating. In the same context, the ministry pointed out that about 560 signboards have been installed at all Doha Metro stations to facilitate the experience of public transportation and access to stadiums with ease during the World Cup, in addition to the installation of systems that contribute to providing real-time information from stations about passenger flow, which enhances the ability to deal with various scenarios related to crowd management safely and effectively. More than 1,800 cadres of crowd management personnel have been trained and deployed to the front lines of stations and will be supported by emergency services personnel. His Excellency affirmed that that the railway network system was able to achieve an outstanding performance in transporting fans and visitors during the World Cup, as the number of passengers transported via the Doha Metro during the period from Nov.18 to Dec. 11 reached more than 14.517 million passengers on all metro lines, while the number of passengers on the Lusail Tram for the same period reached almost 540.000 passengers. HE the Minister pointed to the launch of the Sila application and its website, and the Sila Operation Center, through the application, anyone within the State of Qatar can move from one destination to another with ease and comfort by using the integrated public transport network, in addition to taking advantage of many other advantages provided by the application and the site, including knowing information related to public transport, tracking flights, and seeing the events held in the country and news related to Sila. It underscored the launch of other services in the next stage, including integrated touchless payment options, including payment via the application and the website of Sila using the QR code or through Sila card and bank cards. Also, some Sila cards are environmentally friendly and made from natural materials that can decompose in the soil. At the civil aviation level, September 2022 witnessed the start of the activation of the new airspace developed for the State of Qatar and the launch of the first phase of the Doha flight information region. In light of this, the capacity has been increased to about 100 air traffic per hour, and the number of incoming and departing air routes to the State of Qatar has become 17 routes separated from each other, in order to achieve more smooth movement and ensure greater safety. The air traffic flow management device, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East, has also been installed, and air traffic controllers and all employees dealing with it have been trained to use it efficiently, in order to help air traffic controllers arrange the arrival and departure of aircraft to and from Doha, and neighboring countries have been provided with an electronic page through which to find out the departure hours from their countries, all in order to cope with the expected operating intensity during the World Cup, noting that the number of air traffic movements at Hamad and Doha international airports reached during the period from November 18 to Dec. 10, 2022, approximately 18,300 air traffic movements, noting that the third phase of the expansion will raise Phase "B", scheduled to start work next year, from the airport's capacity to more than 70 million passengers per year and the construction of two new areas within the existing building, and will be completed according to a specific schedule. HE the Minister reiterated that work in developing the sector to serve all economic, service and environmental sectors in accordance with the best international practices and standards, and the Ministry will continue its work in supporting the government's efforts to improve the quality of the climate for the State of Qatar and provide a healthy environment for all citizens, residents and visitors and secure the future of generations. The future plans of the ministry will focus on maintaining the sustainability of the transport sector in the State, pointing to the work on the establishment of the main water transport station in Lusail area in addition to a number of positions supporting the service of Sea ferries. (QNA)