Doha, Qatar: Within its efforts to promote environmental sustainability in all its projects and spread awareness on effective societal participation to protect the environment and preserve resources for next generations, the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has organised an event on the World Environment Day 2023.
This coincides with the completion of stormwater networks within the Flood Prevention Scheme in Doha South areas of the Drainage Network Projects Department, which aims to provide a solution for stormwater accumulation in various areas, including Al Wakra.
Over 100 volunteers and environmental activists participated in the event, along with the project team, as they cleaned Al Wakra beach from waste and harmful plastic materials. During the event, the project team also participated in removing construction waste, temporary pumping systems and pipes that were used during the rainy season, in addition to leveling the beach ground and extending a layer of clean sand.
Eng. Khalid Saif Al Khayareen, Drainage Networks Projects Department Manager at Ashghal, said:
“The authority participates in the World Environment Day celebrations to confirm its commitment to preserving the environment during the implementation of infrastructure development projects in the country, and to contribute to achieving Qatar National Vision 2030 in the field of environmental protection, in cooperation with all entities in Qatar.”
He stressed that the participation of this large number of volunteers in cleaning Al-Wakra Beach reflects the increasing awareness of the importance of protecting the environment among members of society.
Al Khayareen pointed out the importance of cooperation between Ashghal and the Ministry of Municipality represented by Al Wakra Municipality, which helped to overcome many challenges that faced the work team during the project implementation phases.
The authority, represented by Al Khayareen, honoured the participating guests as well as the Flood Prevention Scheme Project’s work team on the part of Ashghal, the main implementation contractor, Hamad Bin Khaled Contracting Company, and the consultant company supervising the project, Parsons International Limited, in recognition of their contribution to environmental protection and community participation in Al Wakra area, in addition to providing a safe work environment in the project which resulted in achieving 7,000,000 man-hours without lost-time-injuries (LTI).
Regarding the Flood Prevention Scheme project, Eng. Khalid Al-Qatami, Drainage Networks Projects Department Assistant Manager, said that the implementation of the third phase of the project began in April 2020 with the aim of providing practical solutions to the problems of stormwater accumulation in more than 35 areas North and South of Doha, including Al-Wakra area, which will contribute to meeting the needs of the population and improving the quality of life and environmental conditions there.
As for Al-Wakra area, Al-Qatami explained that the design process took into account the volumes of rain expected to fall in Al-Wakra area and its vital sites such as Al-Wakra Main Road and the areas surrounding Al Janoub Stadium, Al-Wakra General Hospital, and some residential areas, in addition to the old Al-Wakra Souq and the surrounding area.
He said that the ground tank is designed with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres. Al Qatami pointed out that the main stormwater drainage networks with a total length of 75 km have been completed, of which 19 km of networks are in Al-Wakra. He added that these networks cover 108 flood control points in the North and South of Doha.
