The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced a planned $474 million sanitation project in the northern area of Doha. The project involves designing and building a major wastewater pumping station and pipeline network, as well as a lifting station, in order to improve sanitation in new Doha, according to an official statement, quoted by Ooska News, publishers of international water sector news.
Ashghal has also completed expansion work under the second phase of the $190mn Doha south wastewater treatment plant. The plant's capacity is now 180,000cu m per day, up from 106,000cu m, Ooska said.
Earlier this year, Ashghal had said it would carry out $2.7bn worth of sanitation projects in and around Doha in an effort to meet the projected increase in demand for sanitation services over the next 50 years.
The project, "Inner Doha re-sewerage implementation strategy (Idris)" that extends up to Mesaieed, would meet the demands of the population growth of additional 1mn residents in south Doha and is expected to cost about QR10bn.
The six sets of projects involve 15 contracts for upgrades to sanitation infrastructure throughout the city and construction of a major tunnel to collect all waste water and connect it with new treatment facilities. Another goal is to reuse waste water for irrigation purposes.
The project to upgrade and expand the sewerage infrastructure in south Doha will be tendered towards the end of this year. Work is expected to begin in the first quarter of the next year.
It will be fully implemented in about seven to eight years, with the earliest commissioning dates set for some time in the middle of 2019.
Once implemented, the project is expected to permanently solve the problem of sewage water flooding in parts of Doha city and the Industrial Area.
According to an Ashghal official, Idris will overhaul south Doha's existing network capabilities and upgrade it significantly for decades to come.
The Qatari government has allocated around $20bn for infrastructure and development projects like sanitation and airports in the current fiscal year.
The country is preparing to host the World Cup 2022. It is estimated that Qatar would invest roughly $200bn for infrastructure over the next 11 years.
Gulf Times
13 August
