A host of experts and officials in the transport sector discussed the most prominent challenges and accomplishments achieved by the aforementioned sector during the past period.
They pointed to the projects and strategies to be laid out during the upcoming period, in addition to highlighting numerous topics, chief of which are the mechanism of transition to electric and sustainable transportation, active role of private sector in developing transportation and communications sector.
This came during the three panel discussions held on the margins of the first day of the ‘Sustainable Transportation and Legacy for Generations’ Conference and Exhibition with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Transport, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), Msheireb Properties, Mowasalat (Karwa), Qatar Rail, Fusion Group Holding, GBM Qatar, alongside other groups.
The first session highlighted the most prominent developments at the level of electric transformation in public transportation sector, as well as autonomous vehicle strategy in the State of Qatar whose vision is revolved around the promotion of public transportation sector through diversifying smart transportation means and help create a smart, secure, integrated and sustainable movement available for all through adopting modernity, securing infrastructure and bolstering network communication for data sharing.
The session, in question, discussed the contributions provided by Kahramaa through the strategy of electric vehicles and charging and its infrastructure to be the nucleus part of regulating the operation and installation of charging stations through Tarsheed national program. The session noted the accomplishments of the electric charging stations during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament, including the installation of 100 chargers nationwide to operationalize a first carbon-neutral global tournament.
In addition, the first session discussed the infrastructure program of public transportation buses that primarily focuses on upgrading a modern and sustainable infrastructure that supports buses and electric vehicles, along with parking lots distributed in Msheireb Properties as a smart city with distinguished innovations and traffic signals constructed on intersections and tracks dedicated to pedestrians, along with cycling tracks.
Regarding the policy of utilizing pure diesel fuel, the session discussed the key objectives of reducing the volume of harmful carbon emissions by maintaining the economic and environmental equilibrium.
Pertaining to policies of encouraging the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, the participants affirmed that the Ministry of Transport has taken an array of measures as part of the strategy to achieve the transition in the public and private transportation system to clean energy in collaboration with the relevant entities to set the required specifications and standards.
The second session discussed the strategic vision and objectives of land transportation in Qatar which is an integrated and sustainable system that undergirds economy and better life quality for all. The strategic objectives aim to provide a sustainable and integrated transportation system characterized by safety, security, and conservation of the environment.
The session discussed the plans for expansion in the sustainable and eco-friendly transportation in the future to attain 30 plans to upgrade the main public transportation network with 540 km, in addition to expansion in covering the current lines of Metro and provision of electric busses and wireless electric chargers.
The third session focused on ‘Park and Ride’ project which offers modern parking facilities with high efficiency on major and vital geographical areas in Qatar, alongside Metro stations, as the project aims to encourage the use of the sustainable and state-of-the-art transportation systems to ensure traffic flow, reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions, as well as provide the essential support to the public transportation network and commissioning of Doha Metro.
Regarding the infrastructure of water taxis, the speakers confirmed that the infrastructure of water taxis was accomplished by the end of 2022 with the first project phase encompassing three stations ready for operation, such as Lusail station, Pearl station and Corniche station. Also, Marine ferry terminals have been equipped with electric chargers as part of the transition strategy to clean energy.
Pertaining to electric vehicles and zero emissions, the third session affirmed that during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament Mowasalat operated 850 Zero-emission buses (ZEB), with the bus fleet increasing to 909 electric buses and all are used in public transportation services and Metrolink.
Source: Qatar News Agency