The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ opened Phase 1 of the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi, Minister of Municipality and Environment, H.E. Mr. Hassan Abdullah Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the supreme committee for delivery and legacy, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad Bin Ahmed Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority, Eng. Abdullah Hamad Al Attiyah, Assistant President of Ashghal, as well as a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Public Works Authority, and the General Directorate of Traffic at the Ministry of Interior.
Phase 1 included opening of roads with a total length of 125 kilometres, extending from Hamad Port to Al Shamal Road, up to Lusail and Al Khor.
Ashghal has accelerated the implementation pace in order to complete the road ahead of schedule, due to its importance in providing a direct link between the strategic Hamad Port through the G-Ring Road, the Industrial Area, Salwa Road, Dukhan Highway and Al Shamal Road, and reaching Lusail city and Al Khor. This will improve the transport of merchandises and goods from the South to the North of the country, especially as the port accommodates more than 2500 trucks per day.
The Orbital Highway also provides a direct link with a number of stadiums such as Al Rayyan Stadium, Al Khor Stadium, Lusail Stadium, and other sports facilities.
On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, stated that the New Orbital Highway is directly connected to Hamad Port, which will enhance traffic flow to and from the port throughout the day. The new openings will enhance goods traffic directly and for the first time from Hamad Port to Al Shamal Road and then to Al Khor passing through the G Ring Road, the Industrial Area, Salwa Road, and Dukhan Highway.
He added that the Orbital Highway is directly linked to a number of stadiums where World Cup 2022 will be held and that it provides as well easy access to a number of sports facilities.
HE the Minister of Transport and Communications also stressed that roads infrastructure and all related projects will be delivered on time according to the instructions and guidance of the wise leadership which spared no effort in providing support to complete them.
From his side, H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi Minister of Municipality and Environment expressed his happiness with Ashghal’s significant achievement through the opening of important and vital parts of the expressway network, which with its completion will have great positive results and a shift on the developmental, economic and social levels.
He also renewed commitment and everyone’s keenness and combined efforts to implement all projects on time and to overcome challenges.
H.E. also added that the Orbital Highway which we are celebrating opening Phase 1 of it today, and the openings that other expressways witnessed recently, will serve a big number of municipalities in the country including Al Rayyan, Al Khor and Al Thakhira, Al Wakra, Umm Slal, and Al Sheehaniya. It also provides easy access and direct connection between residential and commercial areas, mainly Logistics Village and Doha Industrial Area, which greatly contributes to supporting the business traffic and ease the residents movements between these areas.
From his side, Mr. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy confirmed that the expressway network being implemented by Ashghal will ease the audience access to 2022 World Cup stadiums.
H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority said that Ashghal was able to provide alternatives for all materials from different markets, and we have stability in all construction materials. We cooperated with more than a country and entity including Kuwait, Oman, Turkey, India, China and other markets to provide tools for all infrastructure projects in the country, and project works are going on as per plan.
We benefitted from this experience by relying more on the local products and developing its quality, we also started an initiative to speed up the local product qualification process.
Eng. Abdullah Al Attiya, Assistant President of the Public Works Authority confirmed that this phase of the project was opened on 27 June 2017, ahead of schedule.
Al Attiya confirmed that Qatar projects will not be affected by the blockade, and that Ashghal is committed to implement projects as per schedules, and alternative plans were put to realize Qatar National Vision.
The new 69km long part of the road will enhance traffic flow from south of the country to the north from Mesaieed and Hamad Port to Al Khor and Lusail, going through G-Ring Road, Industrial Area, Salwa Road, Dukhan Highway and Al Shamal Road. Road users can also go for the first time from Mesaieed to Al Khor directly without having to go through Doha, which has a positive impact on goods movements coming from Hamad Port, since it is currently the main port for the country and receives about 2500 trucks daily.
The importance of this opening is in providing a free flowing traffic movement for trucks going to and from Hamad Port to Al Khor, whereas the road will have a capacity of 6000 light and heavy vehicles per hour in each direction and in a record time that will reduce travel time to about 50%.
The Orbital highway will provide a direct connection with a number of stadiums including Al Rayyan, Al Khor, Lusail and other sports facilities, pointing out that the recent political events did not and will not affect the implementation of infrastructure projects, whereas all works are being completed on time or before.
Features of the opened sections
The new sections include the opening of three lanes in each direction of the 18 kilometre road linking Mesaieed to the G-Ring Road, as well as the opening of three lanes in each direction of the 18 kilometre road connecting Dukhan Highway to Al Shamal Road and reaching Lusail. Moreover, five lanes in each direction were opened on the 33 kilometre road connecting Dukhan Highway to Al Shamal Road up to Al Khor.
The opened road traffic capacity will reach around 6,000 vehicles per hour in each direction out of around 12,000 vehicles total per hour expected to be reached after the completion of the Orbital Highway consisting of seven lanes in each direction.
The New Orbital Highway and Truck Route project is considered as an important addition to the road network in Qatar; it will serve as a vital link between the Southern and Northern areas in the country. The project also includes the construction of 21 main interchanges, including tunnels and flyovers that connect the Orbital Highway with the highways and main roads such as the G-Ring Road, Salwa Road, Dukhan Highway, and Al Shamal Road. This will significantly enhance the flow of traffic and shorten the journey times through the Orbital Highway by around 50% on average, compared to the time spent in the same journey using the existing roads.
Achievements of the Orbital Highway 2017
Linking Road from Hamad Port to Doha and the Industrial Area
The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ opened a number of sections of the Orbital Highway in 2017, totaling 56 kilometres. Last June, Ashghal announced the partial opening of a 14 kilometre section of the linking road from Hamad Port to Doha via the G-Ring Road and the Industrial Area. Four lanes were opened in the direction from Hamad Port to the Industrial Area, and works are ongoing to complete the opposite direction from the Industrial Area to Hamad Port, which will open during the next period.
Hamad Port Road will provide road users with a direct shortcut route as an alternative to Al Kharrara Road or Al Wakra Road. It is expected to shorten travel times by more than 15%.
The new road extends from Mesaieed Road, passing through the G-Ring Road, up to the East Industrial Street, through the recently opened underpass on the East Street 33 Interchange (formerly Al Watan Roundabout). It will establish a free-flowing connection between Hamad Port, Hamad International Airport, and Salwa Road.
37 kilometres from the G-Ring Road to Dukhan Highway and Mesaieed Road
In April 2017, Ashghal opened 37 kilometres of the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route to traffic. The opened parts included a 29 kilometre linking road from the intersection of the Orbital Highway with the F-Ring Road, up to the intersection of the Orbital Highway with Dukhan Highway, through Salwa Road. The opened parts also included eight kilometres of Mesaieed Road, extending from the south of Al Wakra to Hamad Port.
The importance of the 29 kilometre section of the Orbital Highway lies in its direct connection with Salwa Road and Dukhan Highway, providing alternative routes away from Doha and reducing traffic congestion in the city. The opened part also serves a wide range of economic and agricultural activities since the logistics Village as well as a large number of farms are located on both sides of the road. Increasing the number of lanes to three lanes in each direction instead of the two lanes in the previous road, will increase the road capacity to around 6000 vehicles per hour in each direction, instead of 4000 vehicles per hour. This will shorten the journey times, especially that four roundabouts on the previous temporary road were removed in an aim to improve the traffic flow. An emergency lane was provided in addition to the three lanes in order to avoid traffic distruption.
On the other hand, the opened eight kilometre section of Mesaieed Road will enhance the traffic flow and facilitate access for those traveling from Doha and Al Wakra to Hamad Port and the Southern areas.
Linking Road from Hamad Port to the Truck Route
The Public Works Authority also opened in February 2017 about five kilometres of the road that links Hamad Port to the Truck Route, enhancing trucks movement between Hamad Port and the Truck Route, and to Doha and other areas in the country.