H.E. the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani on Thursday 24 March 2016 visited the construction site of the East-West Corridor project. This Project is considered a vital part of the Public Works Authority's Expressway Programme in the south of Qatar. The Prime Minister was received by H.E. Eng. Nasser bin Ali Al Mawlawi, President of the Public Works Authority, Eng. Jalal Yousef Al Salhi Director of Infrastructure Affairs and Eng. Nasser Ghaith Al Kuwari, Manager of Ashghal’s Expressway Department.
The inspection tour reflects His Excellency's keenness to remain informed on the progress updates of Ashghal's key Expressway Programme projects and to closely follow their stages of development.
During the tour, H.E. the President of Ashghal and officials from the authority briefed H.E. the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior on the project's scope and the milestones achieved by Ashghal to this date.
H.E. Eng. Al Mawlawi said: "The visit of H.E. Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani to the construction sites of Expressway projects in south of Qatar indicates his keenness to follow-up closely on the progress and developments of the projects and fully support Ashghal in completing these projects. The visit also reflects the country's commitment to support the implementation of these important development projects."
It is worth mentioning that construction of the East-West Corridor Project is expected to be completed in Q2, 2017. Comprising construction of approximately 22 km of a new dual carriageway, the new East West Corridor roads will feature five lanes in each direction stretching from west of Barwa City, to Al Matar Street south of the Air Force Roundabout. The project includes eight grade-separated interchanges that will provide new access to key roads and residential areas such as Al Matar Street, Najma Street Extension, Barwa Access Road, F-Ring Road, the Orbital Highway and Al Wakra Bypass.
Covering infrastructure improvements in the area, the project will include the upgrade and relocation of utilities, new road lighting, installation of an Intelligent Transport System and storm water drainage. The project will see the installation of 2,842 metres of drainage lines, 78,000 metres of irrigation lines, more than 80,000 metres of electrical high voltage cables, and over 79,000 metres of Medium/ low voltage Cables (MV/LV).
New and improved pedestrian pathways and cycle paths have been planned to reduce the reliance on vehicles and improve accessibility. As part of the development, more than 6,000 street lights will be installed on the East-West Corridor.
The East-West Corridor will also link to Al Wakra Bypass Road as part of the Expressway Programme South of Qatar. Al Wakra Bypass project, located to the west of Al Wakra, comprises the construction of 11 km of new dual carriageway. The project starts near Al Mashaf Road and runs to Mesaieed Road includes five major interchanges along with access roads that will provide new access to key roads and residential areas south of Qatar. The new road will provide better connectivity between Doha and Mesaieed and will create free flowing path connecting Mesaieed and Wakra city directly to the centre of Doha without the need to travel through Al Wakra city.
The project also links to the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route "Orbital". The Orbital stretches from Mesaieed to Al Khor city and Ras Laffan Industrial city. It forms a fundamental part of the Expressway Programme providing better connectivity between the southern areas, Hamad International Airport, and New Doha Port and forming a free flowing traffic route without the need to travel through Doha city, helping to alleviate congestion.