Transport Strategies Solidify Qatar's Global Position

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Deepak John | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: Building on the current year's progress, the Ministry of transport (MoT) aims to strengthen Qatar's global position by developing land, maritime, and air transport infrastructure with advanced technologies, connecting the country regionally and globally.

In a recent post on its social media handle the MoT highlighted the key accomplishments across the land, maritime and air transport sector in 2024.

Qatar's main gateway to world trade, Hamad port has implemented a range of measures to protect the environment and combat climate change. The port has installed fixed and mobile environmental monitoring systems that measure ambient air quality, noise, groundwater, water quality, and marine environment.

Mwani Qatar was awarded the 'Glob of Honour' Award and 'Sector Award' by the British Safety Council highlighting exceptional excellence in environmental management for its significant contributions to sustainable development and the preservation of Qatar's marine ecosystem in November 2024.

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According to Mwani Qatar website, record number of containers and cargo were handled by Hamad, Ruwais and Doha ports during the year. Around 2,542 vessels docked at the ports, 1,528,874 tonnes of general cargo, 127,947 RORO units, 1,334,057 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers, 499,376 heads of livestock, and 278,742 tonnes of building materials were handled in 2024.

Meanwhile, Al Mina Market in Ruwais (northern Qatar) supports high quality local products and is uniquely blended with heritage and modern elements of today's marketplace. The market is dedicated to selling a wide spectrum of goods imported via merchant ships to Al Ruwais port from different parts of the region.

The land transport sector the official data showed major improvements to transportation and safety infrastructure that include the delivery of 40% Qatar Bicycle Master Plan Updating Project that is developing bicycle and micromobility device paths.

In May 2024, the MoT conducted a large-scale field survey as part of Stage 2 of the project of updating the Qatar Bicycle Master Plan (QBMP).

This takes into consideration that the Third Qatar National Development Strategy (NDS3) prioritises a high quality of life by benefiting from Qatar's advanced transportation infrastructure by increasing utilisation and efficiency and accelerating the transition to more sustainable mobility options. This effort is also aligned with the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the initiatives outlined in the Transportation Master Plan for Qatar (TMPQ 2050).

It also highlights the delivery of 75% of Qatar Access Management Guidelines enhancing the road user safety; 45% of Al Waab Corridor project for traffic safety of all road users; 73% operating of public e-buses, as part of it first tranche of school e-buses has been launched; and high metro service performance of 99%.

Qatar achieved 73% electrification in its public bus fleet in the first quarter of 2024 and the plan is on track to reach 100% electrification of public bus fleet by 2030. The initiative aims at placing Qatar among top countries in terms of achieving zero emission transition in transportation in line with Qatar National Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

As a result of Qatar Rail's commitment to providing the highest level of service to the network's customers, the overall customer satisfaction rate with Doha Metro services scored 99.66% this year.

Additionally, the overall accident frequency rate (AFR) recorded 0.01, reaffirming the company's commitment to always prioritise safety. The Metro service performance also recorded 99.85% for regularity, 99.66% for punctuality, and 99.90% for availability.

The air transportation key highlights include management of Doha Flight Information Region (FIR) which is evidence of the international confidence enjoyed by the civil aviation system in the country.

In June 2024, Qatar was elected chair of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s Air Transport Committee (ATC). The year also saw signing of international agreements to boost country's ranking and signing of an MoU to host ICAO FLAC 2025, the official data noted.

According to Qatar Tourism, the number of visitors by the end of October 2024 reached a new high of 4 million, matching the total visitor count for 2023. This year there was a 26% increase in international visitors in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2023.

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