H.E. Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said that before the start of the Football World Cup 2022, 20 to 25 percent of public transport in the State of Qatar will be environment-friendly modes, use clean energy and enjoy the best safety standards and a high degree of quality and efficiency. This is in accordance with the guidance of the wise leadership that the State of Qatar attains high ranks in the public transport sector, in the use of environment-friendly cars and in the ambitious plans of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC), he said.

His Excellency was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the test operation of the Automatic Rapid Transit (ART) System conducted by the MOTC on Monday. The ART System uses an innovative, modern and environment-friendly transit mode. With intelligent controls, it is a rail-less system for urban public transport which is essentially a crossover between buses and trams. It also integrates electrical and mechanical systems and uses quick-charge batteries.

H.E. the Minister pointed out that it is scheduled that the ART System will be operational operation within 15 to 16 months, and will be handed over to Mowasalat Company (Karwa) to finalize some tests and get the best contracts from users in this field, indicating that this comes within the public transport master plan in the country, which costs QR 3 billion from now until 2022.

He pointed out that the MOTC is not in a hurry when it comes to the actual launch of this system, and it can operate it at the present time, but this will not lead to the purpose for which it brought this technology that requires a large population density. A certain date has been selected to launch it and it will be an ideal experience for the World Cup and constitute a real legacy after this tournament for regions where no tram or metro service is available.

H.E. the Minister of Transport and Communications stressed that the public transport system in Qatar has made great strides and has achieved qualitative leaps and will be one of the most efficient systems in the world.

His Excellency stressed the importance attached by the MOTC to security and safety operations, pointing out that any project, especially in the public transport sector, must go through several strong stages before its launch, the most important of which is ensuring the safety and security of passengers. In this framework, many tests are carried out over different periods of time to ensure safety and security to ensure Qatar's leadership in security and safety standards.

His Excellency stressed that MOTC's safety and security section will not give permission for actual use until all safety stages are met to ensure that the system launched is sound and keeps pace with the environment standards, noting the importance of user awareness of security and safety mechanisms to realize the integrated transport system.

This initiative comes within MOTC's endeavors to providing a world-class, multimodal integrated transportation system that connects all regions in Qatar, helping the public to reach to their destinations easily with safe and reliable services in line with the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030, in addition to its significant contribution to developing transportation modes in Qatar according to latest eco-friendly universal systems and deploying alternative and clean energy to reduce harmful emissions.

Source: QNA

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Binu Cherian

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