His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, paid this morning an inspection tour to the Abu Samra Border Crossing Project, which is being implemented by the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the Permanent Committee for the Management of Abu Samra Border Port, With the aim of increasing the port’s capacity before the start of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
On this occasion, H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority, said: "The port expansion works will serve travelers to and from Qatar with more than double the previous capacity by increasing the number of passenger vehicle service lanes from 9 to 24 lanes.”
H.E. Mr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Jamal, Chairman of the General Authority of Customs (GAC), said that the development of the Abu Samra Border Crossing not only serves the preparations for the 2022 World Cup, but will also contribute to enhancing Qatar’s commercial and industrial activity by facilitating the movement of goods, materials and people to and from the country through its land port. H.E. added that as part of the port’s development and upgrade, internal air-conditioning systems have been added to the buildings of the customs inspection platforms for trucks coming and departing Qatar, in addition to external air-conditioning for the customs inspection buildings for vehicles coming to Qatar.
In turn, Eng. Yasir Al Jamal, Director General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: "The development of the Abu Samra Border Crossing is integrated with the rest of the projects implemented by the various concerned authorities in the country to serve the 2022 World Cup to provide the fans coming through the land port a smooth and distinguished experience from the moment they arrive to Qatar.”
Lt. Col. Muhammad Sultan Al-Mannai, Vice-Chairman of the Permanent Committee for the Management of Abu Samra Border Port, said that the development of the Abu Samra Border Crossing will greatly contribute to facilitating travelers’ procedures and completing them smoothly and in shorter time. The capacity of the passports and customs buildings will be doubled, and tourist tracks will be provided with a capacity to accommodate 12,000 cars entering Qatar and 12,000 cars leaving Qatar.
Development and Expansion of Passports & Customs Buildings
Works implemented within the Abu Samra Border Crossing project include developing the passports buildings to serve arrivals and departures, as the capacity of each of them was increased from 9 vehicles to 24 vehicles at the same time, in addition to developing the customs building for arrivals with an increase in its capacity from 28 to 36 vehicles.
Works Serving the 2022 World Cup
As part of what has been implemented to serve the World Cup Qatar 2022, a passenger hall has been constructed with a total area of 10,000 square metres and a capacity to serve 2,000 visitors per hour for arrivals and 2,000 visitors per hour for departures, in addition to 44 Passports and 22 Customs inspection platforms to serve the fans coming to Qatar and to provide them with all means of comfort and safety.
Temporary parking lots were also established to raise the capacity of the tournament fans' parking spaces from 1,400 to 4,500, with the installation of a parking reservation system.
Road and Infrastructure Works
The project’s scope of works included 48 tourist tracks were provided with a capacity to serve 12,000 cars entering Qatar and 12,000 cars leaving Qatar, in addition to road development works with a length of 4.5 km.
Infrastructure development works included the development of sewage networks with a length of 1.3 km, and rainwater drainage networks with a length of 2.5 km.
The project also included the implementation 2 square kilometres of green spaces and beautification works for four roundabouts.
Developed security systemsAs for the security systems work, it included the installation of security systems equipped with the latest technologies and the highest international standards at the port. The works also included renovating and adding a new security fence.
Truck ServiceThe needs of the port users of trucks and heavy vehicles drivers have been considered, as 3 separate lanes will be allocated for trucks only, in addition to providing truck parking lots serving 500 trucks with a total area covering 150,000 square metres. Commercial truck inspection platforms have also been sealed and air conditioned.
Remaining Works
Some of the remaining works on the project are currently being completed, including the Customs building and the final audit building, as well as truck inspection platforms and some finishing works, which are scheduled to be completed at the end of this month to be ready to serve the World Cup Qatar 2022.
After the end of the World Cup, the rest of the works will be completed, including the new car inspection building and the second electricity substation.
Reliance on Local Products
It is worth noting that as part of Ashghal’s keenness to encourage the local product and Qatari manufacturers when implementing all its projects, many locally manufactured materials were used in the works of the Abu Samra Border Crossing project, where the local component accounted for more than 70% of the total materials used in the project. These include lighting poles, lamps, sign boards, infrastructure pipes, asphalt, prefabricated manholes, as well as concrete and steel reinforcement.