In line with the directives of the government, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad
bin Ahmad Al-Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority signed
contracts for building six new health projects in the attendance of Dr.
Musallam Al-Nabit, General Manager Assistant for Administration and Financial Affairs
in the Primary Health Care Corporation, along with a number of officials from
the Ministry of Public Health and the contractors.
The new projects include five new health centres, namely Al-Khor
Health Centre, Al-Wakra South Health Centre, Al-Sadd Health Centre, Al-Mashaf
Health Centre, and Ain Khalid Health Centre, which will serve around 3,500
visitors per day. This is in addition to constructing the National Health
Laboratories building, bringing the total value of the six projects to
approximately QR 1 billion.
The new projects come as part of achieving the Qatar National
Vision 2030, which comes at the top of Ashghal’s strategy. Ashghal is keen to
provide integrated infrastructure and public facilities to serve all sectors in
the country, particularly the health sector. Ashghal has implemented 24 health
buildings between 2004 and 2018.
On this occasion, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al-Muhannadi,
President of the Public Works Authority, thanked H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin
Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, The Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, for
his unlimited support and for providing budgets for the new projects, as well
as overcoming all obstacles that face infrastructure projects that serve both
citizens and residents.
Ashghal President expressed his pride that all contractors who
have been awarded the new contracts are local contractors, noting that Ashghal
encourages local and national companies to implement their projects in line
with the directives of the wise leadership.
Ashghal President pointed out that during the last five years,
Ashghal implemented double the number of health centres that were implemented
in the past. He added that there are four other health centres under design
Madinat Khalifa South, Umm Ghuwailina, Al-Thamid and Nuaija. Implementation of
these centres will commence in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health.
For his part, Dr. Musallam Al-Nabit, General Manager Assistant for
Administration and Financial Affairs in the Primary Health Care Corporation,
thanked H.E. Dr. Saad bin Ahmad Al-Muhannadi, President of the Public Works
Authority, for his continuous support and fruitful cooperation during the past
years and during this year. Dr. Musallam Al-Nabit said: Our wise government has
always supported the health sector and gave it significant importance at the
state level. Two health centres were opened this year, and two other health
centres will be opened before the end of the year. This is in addition to the
new projects, which include five health centres throughout the country,
especially in the external areas such as Al-Mashaf and Al-Wakra South and Al-Khor.
A number of contractors expressed their appreciation to the Public
Works Authority, noting that the authority has made every effort to provide
support to local companies and to overcome the obstacles facing them.
Mr. Rashid Al Kaabi, Vice Chairman of
AlSorayi Group for Trading and Contracting praised the role of the Public Works
Authority in supporting national companies and qualifying them to implement the
largest infrastructure projects in the country and compete for the largest
development projects inside and outside Qatar. He added that Al-Sorayi Group
would establish national health laboratories.
Mr. Hashim Abdullah of Al Tawfeek &
Partners for Contracting said that Ashghal has opened the way for local
companies to execute important projects in the country that serve the health
sector. It also supported national cadres to participate in the urban
development in the country.
He added that Ashghal has spared no effort
to provide all citizens with the opportunity to participate in the
implementation of important projects including Al Khor Health Center and Ain
Khalid Health Center. Eng. Haidar Mashhadi, CEO of Al Madar, said that the
company through "Ashghal’s" continuous support in implementing Al
Sadd Health Center, which is one of the largest health centers in terms of
space and the capacity of the visitors
He pointed out the clear transparency in the
tender procedures in Ashghal projects, which contributes to his view on the
development of the projects, in addition to the continuous communication with
officials in Ashghal, headed by HE Dr. Saad bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi.
GSAS
It is
worth mentioning that all criteria were also set by Global Sustainability
Assessment System (GSAS) since operational and architectural considerations
were taken to accomplish a 3-star environmental level in terms of energy saving
and environment preservation, including:
·
Using
solar energy for the purpose of in-house water heating
·
Using
natural sunlight through panoramic roof windows, allowing sun light in to save
a quite bit of electricity which is used in lights and to disinfect the place.
·
Rational
consumption of water inside and outside the building
·
Growing
green areas and landscapes around the facility.
·
Preserving
the environment around during the implementation of the project
Ashghal
has been granted two
Sustainability Awards (2016) in health and education facilities by the Gulf
Organization for Research and Development “GORD”, the first performance-based
system in the MENA region. Over the past year, GORD examined the designs of
building projects –educational and health buildings - and conducted site visits
to Ashghal’s projects to verify that the projects match GSAS standards.
Ashghal Building Affairs
is much occupied with health projects in cooperation with the Ministry of
Public Health. Thus, the Primary Health Care sector has witnessed recently a
boom since it opened unique and distinct health centre, where it has
unprecedented services and spaces in Qatar to accommodate huge numbers of
visitors and offer much improved medical care.