Ashghal organises an Industry Briefing on its upcoming infrastructure projects in new and existing subdivisions

The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ organised an industry-briefing Seminar on its upcoming infrastructure projects in new and existing Subdivisions. Eng. Abdullah Hamad Al Attiyah, Assistant President of Ashghal attended with a number of Affairs directors, managers and other employees from Ashghal.

Many companies related to the construction industry attended the seminar including contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and consultants in addition to individuals from governmental and non-governmental institutions who are interested in Ashghal’s plans for the next two years in respect of local roads and infrastructure projects. During the seminar, Ashghal presented the local roads and drainage projects that will be implemented during 2018 and 2019.

The Industry Briefing event started with a speech by Eng. Abdullah Al-Attiyah, Ashghal’s Assistant president, in which he stated that this event aims not only to introduce Ashghal’s upcoming projects to construction companies, but also to raise awareness of the Authority's continuous development in the methods adopted to manage and implement its projects. Also to emphasize the Authority's strategy which was launched in 2017 with the new vision “Excellence in delivering and managing efficient sustainable infrastructure”.

In the same context, Eng. Saoud Al Tamimi, Roads Projects Dept. Mgr. at Ashghal, stated that 37 infrastructure development projects are planned to be implemented in the existing and new subdivisions in 2018 with a budget totaling almost 13.8 billion Qatari Riyals. Also in 2019, Ashghal is planning to start more than 18 projects to develop the infrastructure in the residential areas with a budget that will be announced early next year.  Engineer Al Tamimi added that the projects that will be implemented in 2018 will serve more than 27 thousand subdivisions and include road works of about 750 km, as well as drainage networks of more than 750 km, and Storm water network with a length of more than 1,300 km.

Engineer - Ahmad Ali Al Ansari, Ashghal’s Technical Office Manager, said that the procurement and contracting strategies have been reshaped and developed considering many aspects including better planning of the construction activities to minimise disruption to residents and Consistent implementation of site standards as well as the best practices for the right of way. Also through reshaping the contracts, the importance of Zone and Sub-Zone Phased Delivery was taken into consideration. This includes concurrent zonal working but not in adjoining neighborhoods at the same time to minimise traffic disruptions.

Revisiting the contracts also emphasized the importance of community outreach to reduce the construction impact on the daily lives of the public and the surrounding environment and increase public awareness. The timely project delivery also have been considered during contracts enhancements where new Key Performance Indicator system – KPI – is developed. It is worth mentioning that during the event, the supply of materials for projects was discussed.

The industry briefing witnessed great interaction from the attendees where they showed interest in what was presented and they asked many questions about the details of upcoming projects and contracts enhancements. Ashghal’s Assistant President, Affairs directors and managers answered all their questions.