​​The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ is progressing with the implementation of the first phase of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar projects. This comprises the design and execution of a number of projects that include constructing pedestrian and cycle paths, construction and maintenance of green areas and planting trees, development of vital areas, adding artworks throughout the country. Such works are done under the umbrella of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and in coordination with several ministries and governmental entities in the country including the Ministry of Transport and Communications, The Ministry of Sports and Culture, Qatar Museums, Qatar Railways Company, the Private Engineering Office and others.

The Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar announced today, 28 September 2019, the launch of “Qatar Beautification and Our Kids Planting Trees” Campaign and the opening of Al Abraj Park in West Bay Area in conjunction with the start of planting season. Al Abraj Park opening was attended by H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi, President of Ashghal, Eng. Mohammed Arqoub Al Khalidi, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar, Eng. Jamal Matar Al Nuaimi, Director of Doha Municipality, Mr. Mohamed Ali al-Khouri, Director of Public Parks Department at MME, Mr. Jassem bin Najem Ali Al Khulaifi, Member of Central Municipal Council - first Constituency, Mr. Faisal Youssef Bahzad, Deputy Manager of Ahmed Mansour Primary School for Boys, and Eng. Amna Al Badr, Secretary of the Committee.

In this regard, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi, President of Ashghal pointed out that in line with the vision of H.H. the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to preserve the environment for future generations and increase green areas, and in accordance with the directives of H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to form The Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Placeas in Qatar, many development works will be carried out where the main roles include building an integrated and safe network of pedestrian and cycle paths, planting trees, increasing green spaces, Doha beautification, and developing the Corniche. He also mentioned that some other areas will be converted to green areas, such as power stations. This is in addition to the implementation of an initiative aimed at involving Qatari artists and allocating a place for them within the city of Doha to display their work, in cooperation with the Qatar Museums, The Ministry of Sports and Culture and the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.

H.E. Ashghal President emphasized that the “Qatar Beautification and Our Kids Planting Trees Campaign, aims to raise awareness about importance of planting trees and to instill environmental values in school students in different education stages and to emphasise that preservation of environment is everyone’s duty. Ashghal President participated with 30 students, from Ahmed Mansour Elementary Boys School, to plant 25 trees, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Coordination is underway with many other entities in the country to participate in the campaign.

Eng. Mohammed Arqoub Al Khalidi, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar, stated that one of the most important objectives of the Committee is to rehabilitate many areas to be environmentally, pedestrians and cyclists friendly according to Qatar Vision 2030, thus contributing to the creation of a vibrant and healthy culture that supports the use of bicycles and walking to workplaces, and to shopping and entertainment areas as well as contributing to the increase of a healthier lifestyle and exercise. Opening of Al Abraj today is a new step towards achieving the objectives of the Committee. The park is located in Onaiza area, which includes many administrative and government buildings as well as commercial establishments on Majlis Al Taawon Street. This will provide the area's visitors, especially employees and business owners a breathing space to take a break in a healthy green area away from the busy daily schedule and closed offices. Specially that the park is easily accessible since it is located among the towers, which will encourage the people working or visiting this area to pass through it during their day, without the need to use the car.

Al Khalidi added that work is under way in coordination with many other entities and stakeholders to reduce obstacles and potential problems, and to ensure that the projects are being implemented according to planned schedule.

Eng. Jamal Matar Al Nuaimi, Director of Doha Municipality, expressed his happiness at launching the campaign and opening the park, pointing out that the sustainable strategy of the municipalities focuses on improving the quality of life and the importance of health and sports, thus work towards preserving the environment to achieve Qatar Vision 2030.

Mr. Mohamed Ali al-Khouri, Director of Public Parks Department at MME, emphasised the importance of expanding the work of beautification, landscaping and planting trees to keep pace with the expansion of the urban development witnessed in Qatar, adding that a number of lands have already been allocated for building parks in various areas of the country. He also praised Ashghal's efforts in considering planting trees in all new road projects, which will contribute to increasing the number of trees and thus contribute to reducing carbon emissions. He explained that the role of the Department focuses on reviewing designs and selecting the types of plants that suit the nature of the Qatari environment taking into account Water consumption and future maintenance.

Mr. Jassem bin Najem Ali Al Khulaifi, Member of Central Municipal Council - first Constituency, explained that Qatar prioritise the protection of the environment, and that the opening of the park is a breather for the people of Doha in general and for the employees in the West Bay region in particular. For their efforts to implement the park in record time and its opening to the public. He also thanked Ashghal and The Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar, for the effort done to build the park and open it to public in record time.

Mr. Faisal Youssef Bahzad, Deputy Manager of Ahmed Mansour Primary School for Boys, expressed his happiness for choosing the school to launch the tree planting campaign, praising the efforts of all concerned authorities to instill the values ​​of planting trees in the school students and developing their abilities to reject bad environmental habits and behavior, and to create ethical values ​​based on environment respect. He pointed out that these efforts fall within the protection of the environment and are the fourth pillar in the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Eng. Amna Al-Bader, Secretary General of the Committee, said that the work of the Committee will encourage the change in the public lifestyle and will provide healthy alternatives to commuting and reaching the designated destinations through pedestrian and cycle paths especially that these paths will intersect with the metro network and other means of transport.

Al Abraj Park
The design of Al Abraj Park came in the form of a dew drop and streamlined details, also the center of the park is made with distinctive design to include the central seating area where the rest of the park components are surrounding it such as the pedestrian and cycle paths.

The park's facilities offer a variety of activities, including a green central events area, an exercise area and a walking track built made with recycled rubber and Qatari local materials. The Park also includes a cafeteria building, toilets, tree-shaded seats and wooden pergolas.

The park covers 5,800 square meters and include 130 trees, the Bushes cover about 240 square meters while the grass covers about 3,500 square meters of garden area. The Park include different and distinctive types of trees. The main works at the Park is completed and some Minor works are currently being done.

The main role of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar
It is worth mentioning that the increase in urban growth, which is followed by the continuous growth in the number of cars as a mean of transportation and access to daily destinations, increased the need for developing sustainable and environmental friendly services that improve lifestyle. In order to achieve a balance between the movement of cars, pedestrians and cyclists and reduce accidents and traffic congestion within the city, the Committee is taking positive steps to provide a network of safe and shaded paths for pedestrians and cyclists within the existing roads and streets.

The Committee’s five main roles include:

1. Creating dedicated paths for pedestrians and cyclists along the roads and public places, as well as providing shaded rest areas, public services and directional signs to render these paths more lively and attractive.
2. Building public parks to be suitable for families and visitors, including open spaces for various uses, areas dedicated for kids, pedestrians and cyclists paths, Joggers, outdoor sports areas, and special spaces for parking, buses and public services.
3. The development of the Corniche and adding cycling paths, and implementing pedestrian and cyclist underpasses and crossings.
4. The development of the Central Doha Area, which aims to create a healthy and cultural environment that promotes walkability by connecting all vital areas and providing pedestrian-friendly means of transport such as pedestrian crossings and paths. This encourages visitors to use various means of transportation while keeping the travel experience an enjoyable one. The development of the area includes planting trees and landscape for the main and local roads to increase the aesthetic value of the residential areas and important locations. In addition, the project aims to provide face-lift to the building facades in order to achieve the overall development vision of the area, and emphasize Qatar’s historical and cultural legacy.
5. Moreover, there will be upgrade to some of the infrastructure networks and provision of parking facilities, in addition to the development of green areas, public spaces including street furniture such as benches, Kiosks, displays, artworks, and others. All that will contribute to creating attractive destinations within Central Doha which will encourage visitors to experience and enjoy the area.
6. Planting trees and increasing green areas in order to add to the quantities executed by other Ashghal projects of expressways and local roads.
7. The Committee’s role also includes supervising the beautification of some major bridges and bypasses such as the bridges on Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor, the pedestrian bridges on the A-ring and B-ring roads, as well as the implementation of elevated cycle bridges. Additionally, the Committee is tasked with the development of some public beaches in different places in Qatar.

• Provide opportunity for all local artists to participate and make technical proposals that match the nature of the proposed sites.
• Inform and educate the public about the importance of art works in the city
• Provide the opportunity to receive different and creative art ideas.
• As such, and in view of the importance of the Doha Central Development Project, the Technical Committee has, as a first stage, begun to study the mechanism of involving local artists in the proposal and development of some art works in the area that require artists with extensive experience to meet the needs of these sites in terms of idea and design. The experiment is to be disseminated to many other areas of the country.

Work Progress
Ashghal started implementing the first phase of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar projects. These included some streets in north of Doha such as Legtaifiya, Buhaira, Onaiza and Al Markhiya streets and parts of Al Waab street. The beautification of streets such as Al Khafji, Al Jamiaa, Arab League, and others across the whole country are underway.

To date, 76 kilometers of pedestrian and cycle paths have been completed, and other works such as landscape, trees planting, street furniture, lighting, kiosks are still ongoing. Phase one is scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2020.

Moreover, the development of pedestrian and cycle paths has been completed on the road between Al Wakra Metro Station and Al Janoub Stadium. The works included the execution of 5 meter width of pedestrian paths and a 3-meter width of cycle path in each direction of the road, with a length of 3.5 km starting from the Metro station to Al Janoub Stadium. The beautification works also included the planting of 1,100 trees to shade the pedestrian and cycle paths and the plantation of around 23,000 square meters of grass. Street furniture including benches, litter bins, bike racks, and mobile food trucks has been also provided. In addition, directional signs were installed to facilitate the commute of users and fans during different events at Al Janoub Stadium such as the Amiri Cup final.

The Committee has also signed a contract for the development of Central Doha, and the development of cycle and pedestrian paths along the Corniche road and Al Khor road. Also, a tender for the design and build of landscape on Al Majd Road has been issued.

The Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads & Public Places in Qatar in coordination with Ministry of Municipality and Environment has also signed a contract for the design of some public parks in several areas in the country. These parks are Rawdat Al Khail, Al Gharrafa, Um Al Saneem, Rawdat Al Hamama as well as the maintenance of some parks such as Ras Bu Abboud, Al Shamal and Al Wakra Park.

The Committee has also signed a contract with five Contractors to implement some projects with a budget of 700 million Qatari riyals. The scope of works include the construction of pedestrian and cycle paths, landscape, trees, street furniture and lighting, to beautify main and local roads in various parts of the country. The scope also includes the development of some parks in with a special character such as the Qatar national Theatre Park and 5/6 park and Al Abraj park that is opened today.