News | Ministry of Transport

Monday, September 7, 2020

Qatar Wins 2020 WSIS Award for e-Science

Doha-The Qatar Open Data Portal of MOTC won the 2020 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS 2020) Award on Category 7- ICT Applications e-Science.This was announced yesterday during the opening activities of the final week of the WSIS 2020, organized by the ITU via videoconferencing. The event continues until Sept. 9, 2020.“We are pleased the Qatar Open Data Portal has won the WSIS 2020 e-Science Award. Congratulations to the State of Qatar for winning this award, which without a doubt represents an international recognition for the digital progress achieved by the State of Qatar as part of the Qatar Digital Government strategy,” said MOTC’s Acting Assistant Undersecretary of Government Information Technology Ms. Mashael Ali Al-Hammadi.She added that this achievement indicates that MOTC is progressing on the way of achieving Qatar National Vision for building up a knowledge-based digital economy and it is also an indication of its progress in improving its online services provided to the public, facilitating it in the cyberspace, and getting rid of the restrictions of time and place, wishing for the permanent presence of Qatar’s digital government projects and programs on the appreciation platforms to raise Qatar’s name high at international fora.“On this occasion, on behalf of myself and the Government of the State of Qatar, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those involved in this work at ITU and we highly appreciate their efforts in organizing these awards. I would like also to extend my sincere thanks to all our partners in this initiative, from government agencies in Qatar for providing the data and statistics, as well as the public who supported by voting for the initiative. Appreciation is also extended to the members of the content team of the Qatar Digital Government Administration at MOTC for their effective contribution to updating the portal’s content regularly. The portal is a key element for achieving one of QDG’s key goals, namely enhancing government openness, transparency and societal participation by enabling government entities to publish their data and make them available to the public.”Three projects from Qatar were initially have been selected as champions for WSIS 2020 Award. The 2nd category of the award included the “Centralized Connectivity in the Schools Network” of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the 7th category included the “Open Data Portal” under MOTC, and the 8th category included the “Multi Languages Electronic Labor Contract System” of the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs.MOTC launched the portal on April 2019 where government data is published and made accessible online via a single national platform to streamline public access to data while guaranteeing its quality by making it available in the right format in line with best world practices.The WSIS Prizes is the unique global platform to identify and showcase success stories in the implementation of the WSIS 18 Action Lines and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WSIS Prizes contest was developed in response to requests from the WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development.The WSIS Prizes contest is open for all WSIS stakeholders: governments, businesses, civil society, international organizations, academic institutions and others. It features 18 categories that directly match the WSIS Action Lines.

Monday, August 31, 2020

Minister Meets with Turkish Ambassador

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the State of Qatar, HE Mr. Mehmet Mustafa Göksu, in Ministry offices today.The two officials reviewed cooperation relations between the two friendly countries in the fields of transportation and communications and means of further developing them.

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Minister Al-Sulaiti Witnesses Arrival of First Vessel to Hamad Port’s Container Terminal 2

Doha – QatarHE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti today witnessed the arrival of the first vessel, as planned and scheduled, in Hamad Port’s Container Terminal 2 (CT2) project. The ship was loaded with the first shipment of the rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) for vertical container transportation. RTGs will be installed on CT2 quay directly to be used in the initial operation of CT2. Inspecting work progress at CT2, HE the Minister was briefed on work updates regarding building and construction works at CT2 and what has been completed so far until reaching today’s new achievement.CT2 development consists of 4 phases. Full operation of Phases 1 & 2 will start before the end of 2022, taking the port’s capacity to 3 million TEUs per year. Phases 3 & 4 will be developed later to raise the port’s operational capacity according to local market’s needs.On this occasion, HE the Minister said CT2 operation will boost Hamad Port’s ranking as the most updated and most efficient gateway for shipping containers and cargo in the Gulf region and surrounding region in general.The fact that all CT2 works near completion confirms the continuity of the plans that aim to develop and increase the port’s capacity, which is in progress in full gear with no delay or slowdown despite the repercussions associated with the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, which affected several economies around the world directly and indirectly, HE the Minister said.The area of Phases 1 & 2 of Hamad Port’s CT2 is 380,000 sqm. Its quay is 624m long. CT2 is expected to offer the business sector all the modern equipment that uses latest and eco-friendly world technologies to execute their business fast and smoothly. CT2 will be equipped with STS quay cranes with very advanced technology. Each STS crane can handle two containers at the same time. It will also be equipped with RTGs for vertical container transportation, Terminal Tractor APM 75T HE for horizontal container transportation, empty container handlers (ECH) and trailers.Furthermore, all operation-related and service buildings and infrastructure will be constructed at CT2, in addition to telecom, ELV & SSD networks, stormwater networks and relevant infrastructure and installations, supporting CT2 integration with CT1, which started operation in Dec. 2016.

Saturday, August 29, 2020

MOTC Announces Measures of Lifting Curbs on Public Transit System as Phase 4 Begins

Doha – QatarAs Qatar continues its precautionary measures to ensure wellbeing and safety of citizens and residents against the Coronavirus COVID-19, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has announced measures of resuming public transit services within the first part of Phase 4 of the gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.Operators of public transit (buses and metro) can resume service at 30% capacity as of Sept. 1. Service hours will be the same as they were before the service suspension while the situation will be assessed on a weekly basis.MOTC stresses the need for all operators of public transit to comply with the precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Public Health, run a COVID-19 test for all those who work on the public transit system and stations and ensure a negative result before allowing them to go back to work. Those measures also include checking their temperatures daily and continuously, isolating those who exhibit disease symptoms and contacting the bodies concerned for any necessary precautionary and health measures. Operators will be also training their staff in applying such precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. MOTC also stressed that operators need to provide “compliance officers” according to the capacity determined on public transit (buses, metro and stations). Those officers will be responsible for ensuring compliance to all precautionary measures and that they are being followed by public transit users who must avoid crowding in front of the stations. It is also necessary for operators to coordinate effectively and directly with service and vital public utilities associated with metro and bus stations such as the airport, shopping malls, hospitals and bazaars. The aim is to make sure public transit customers do not crowd at these stations and do follow all precautionary measures, in addition to regulating the entry and exit of those who frequent the stations, the metro and the buses, particularly the metro stations with limited capacity. MOTC also stresses the need for all public transit service operators to put emergency plans for managing and monitoring the transportation system users and to take the necessary measures to limit and control the crowding, in collaboration with bodied concerned.MOTC will also constantly work with the operators to develop the necessary plans and awareness campaigns to protect those who are most vulnerable such as the elderly and pregnant women with chronic diseases to urge them not to use the public transit system.The Ministry also urges the operators to encourage users of public transit system to book their ride tickets online, ban all workers and public transit customers from eating or drinking at the utilities, stations and on transportation modes, ban smoking at the entrances of metro and bus stations and remove all ash receptacles. Operators are also requested to ensure all surfaces at stations and public transit system are sterilized continuously and regularly, hand sanitizers are available everywhere while avoid putting them at open spaces such as bus stops, safe social distance footmarks are placed on floors and similar stickers on seats, in addition to receiving customers at a capacity not exceeding the particular occupancy percentage during the current period, which is 30% of the full capacity.Additionally, MOTC stresses the need for public transit operators to allow the public to use the system only after checking their health status on the EHTERAZ App. Entry will be limited only to those with EHTERAZ health status “Green”. People wearing no facemasks will be denied entry. Temperatures must be checked. Those with temperatures higher than 38 will be denied entry to stations and public transportation system.MOTC confirms these instructions are updatable and modifiable according to the situation on the ground. The Ministry will also conduct inspection campaigns on public transit system and stations to ensure correct and full compliance to all back-to-business precautions.MOTC urges the public and public transit workers to follow all precautionary guidance and measures for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. Ministry says every phase of the gradual lifting plan could not succeed without everyone’s compliance to the recommended preventive and precautionary measures.MOTC receives complaints and suggestions via email info@motc.gov.qa, its social media accounts, its MOTC mobile application that’s available for iOS and Android.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Minister Meets with Chinese Ambassador

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the State of Qatar HE Mr. Zhou Jian, in Ministry offices today.The two officials reviewed cooperation relations between the two friendly countries in the fields of ports, transportation and communications and means of further developing them.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Minister Al-Sulaiti, Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Witness Initialing of S.C. Olvia Port Concession Agreement

Doha – KievHE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti and HE the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Mr. Vladyslav Kryklii have witnessed the initialing of the concession agreement for the development and operation of the S.C. Olvia Port - Ukraine, between QTerminals Qatar, QTerminals S.C. Olvia, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, and the State Enterprise Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), at a virtual signing ceremony in Doha and Kiev via videoconferencing. The event was attended by Chairman of Qatar Navigation (Milaha) HE Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s Ambassador to Ukraine HE Mr. Hadi bin Nasser Al-Hajri and Ukraine’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Mr. Andrii Kuzmenko.The agreement was initialed by QTerminals Qatar CEO Mr. Neville Bissett, QTerminals SC Olvia Executive Director Mr. Mohammed Al Lahham, Ukrainian State Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure HE Mr. Buchko Volodymyr Anatoliiovych, and Acting Head of SE USPA HE Mr. Holodnytskyi Oleksandr Hryhorovych.The term of the concession is 35 years, until 2056, during which QTerminals will invest about $140 million to develop the port over the next five years provided that $3.5 million out of that amount is allocated for the restoration of local infrastructure of Mykolaiv, the city where the port is located.Additionally, during the first five years of the concession, QTerminals will invest in establishing a new fully-equipped grain terminal, improve existing warehouses, modernize the road and telecommunications networks and all Olvia utilities and buildings, and set up silos and loading equipment for all modes of transportation, such as railway and freight lines.Commenting on the occasion, HE Minister Al-Sulaiti stressed the strong relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Ukraine and the high level of bilateral cooperation between the two friendly countries.“This concession is a major achievement for QTerminals that honors its strategy for expanding overseas investments as a Qatari company specialized in seaport management,” he said.He noted that awarding the concession is a significant investment opportunity in one of Ukraine’s most important Black Sea ports and that all development works that QTerminals will carry out at the Port of Olvia will contribute to supporting its operations and relevant navigational and logistics services to meet the highest world standards in such a way that will enhance its operational revenues and provide every opportunity for the port to succeed in becoming an international hub for the grain trade.HE the Minister also said that this step will bolster the economic cooperation with Ukrainian and international companies and contribute to supporting the operations of the maritime line between Ukrainian ports and Hamad Port, thus supporting the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.This investment, he noted, will represent a turning point in QTerminals’ contributions to the sustainability of the national economy and the support for efforts to leverage Qatar’s competitiveness on the world map.HE Minister Kryklii said that re-profiling the infrastructure in the region and developing it in such a way that responds to our aspirations and ambitions will give considerable impetus to the development of the region at large.For the Ukraine, the agreement signed with QTerminals is another significant step on the way on widening and re-unlocking the potential of the Port of Olvia, as the company will pay concessions and other fees to the country annually, in addition to QTerminals creating hundreds of new jobs needed by the local community in the city of Mykolaiv.Mr. Bissett said that this agreement is “the first brick in our strategy of international expansion. We have the power, determination, desire and experience to strengthen cooperation between Qatar and Ukraine in the sphere of port production in the Black Sea basin, and we look forward to achieving this in a short period of time.”“We are firmly convinced and confident that the strong management of QTerminals, together with capabilities and expertise of Ukrainian ports will lead to fruitful results and a reality that is built on all factors of success, which we all look forward to,” he added.Established in 1992, S.C. Olvia Port - Ukraine, located in the Mykolaiv region on the Black Sea coast, has been seeing a significant year-on-year increase in grain and oil exports. Mykolaiv is a city in southern Ukraine and one of the region’s principal shipbuilding centers. On an area of 140 hectares, SC Olvia Port has 7 berths and a rail network for transporting cargo inside the port, in addition to several warehouses and storage areas. Its quayside is 1530 meters long.QTerminals was established as a joint venture between the Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) and shipping and logistics company Qatar Navigation (Milaha). QTerminals operates Phase 1 of Hamad Port and is currently working on building Phase 2 of the port. Hamad Port has played a key role in making Qatar a regional business hub that boosts tradein the Middle East region as well as the region’s trade with the rest of the world.