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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
QATAR Rail will complete the Doha Metro project on time as work to develop metro stations on all three lines has begun as per schedule, Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim bin Saif al Sulaiti said on Monday.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Qatar Transport Safety Forum, the minister also revealed that deepening and widening of Doha Port will start in April next year.
The minister informed that Doha Port will be completely closed to navigation from March 30, 2017, for drilling and development works at a cost of about QR2 billion. The works are aimed to facilitate the smooth docking of cruise ships at the port.
He said that major operational and navigational operations of Doha Port will be redirected to Hamad International Port by the end of this year, adding that the ministry will soon announce the name of the construction firms that will be awarded the main canal development project at the port.
Talking about traffic safety issues, the minister said that Qatar has made great strides in achieving sustainable development goals set by the United Nations (UN) regarding road safety. The fact that Qatar has ranked first in the Middle East region in achieving the UN sustainable development goals shows the country's commitment in meeting international standards of road safety management.
Speaking earlier at the forum, Brigadier-General Mohammed al Maliki said that the country's leadership has paid a lot of attention to the issue of traffic safety as specified by the UN. As a result, he said, Qatar established the National Committee for Traffic Safety (NCTS) to promote safety by building a traffic system that is efficient according to the vision of national strategy.
Qatar now occupies 49th rank globally in achieving the goals of sustainable development and first in the Middle East.
He added that Qatar is a leader in traffic safety administration in the region as it launched the National Strategy for Traffic Safety 2013-2022 accompanied by an effective enforcement plan along with implementation of other national, regional and international requirements.
Maliki noted that the National Strategy for Traffic Safety has been divided into two phases with the aim to reduce the mortality rate from 14 per 100,000 to six per 100,000 by 2022. In the first half of the first phase, results exceeded expectations as ratio of fatalities in road accidents dropped to 7.5 per 100,000 in 2015, he said.
He added that 92 out of 166 projects as envisaged in the strategy were implemented between 2013 and 2015.
He further said the rest of the projects will be completed by July next year, adding that many more projects will be launched and completed during the 2018-2022 plan, which will start six months ahead of the schedule.
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18/10/2016
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