Doha, November 09 (QNA) – HE President of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari said that KAHRAMAA completed the expansion of electricity networks to cover all the needs of sports facilities, in addition to five new substations to supply power to the World Cup stadiums at a total cost of about QR800 million, within the framework of its joint work with the responsible authorities in the country for the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 preparations.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE Eng. Al Kuwari explained that the Mehairja substation supplies Khalifa International Stadium, Al Wukair 1 substation supplies Al Janoub Stadium, Al Jahaniya 3 substation supplies Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Haidan substation supplies Al Bayt stadium, and Ras Abu Aboud 2 substation supplies 974 Stadium.
He underlined that the Corporation took into consideration the issues of legacy and operational sustainability when planning these stations and projects. In the future, these stations will supply the surrounding areas, providing an advanced infrastructure to support the continuous economic renaissance experienced by the State of Qatar.
In all phases of implementation, Al Kuwari added, KAHRAMAA was keen on this infrastructure to have an active role in the corporation’s continuous development process. Therefore, the World Cup represented an opportunity for KAHRAMAA to accelerate its development process and keep pace with the amazing economic, development and urban boom the State of Qatar has experienced, while eying global leadership in electricity and water services.
The Corporation’s efforts were not limited to supporting the infrastructure to operate stadiums and sports facilities, rather had a pivotal role in the transport sector by inaugurating five substations dedicated to supplying Qatar Rail, a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution contributing to mitigate the environmental impact of the transport sector in the country in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, Al Kuwari added.
The Department of Conservation and Energy Efficiency at KAHRAMAA inaugurated around 30 charging stations for electric vehicles in coordination with the Ministry of Transport. The efforts of KAHRAMAA are central to the success of organizing the first carbon-neutral World Cup in history. This is a major achievement that KAHRAMAA is proud of and expresses how seriously Qatar is committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement, he continued.
He pointed to the pivotal role of Qatari engineers in all stages of planning, implementation, and supervision, due to KAHRAMAA’s belief in the importance of supporting local talents, and its conviction that its engineers have high levels of competency, responsibility, and honesty that qualify them to complete such important projects in accordance with the highest international standards.
Specialized KAHRAMAA teams successfully developed alternative supplying plans for all stadiums and sports facilities to ensure the continuation of electricity service at the highest levels with no interruptions, befitting the level of the exceptional organization of this major event. KAHRAMAA crews and technicians will be on standby throughout the tournament and around the clock, whether through the National Control Center, which adopts world-leading technology in control, supervision and monitoring, or through the crews present at the venues of the event. The corporation is ready to deal with any emergency, he stressed.
KAHRAMAA is also proud to provide clean and safe water to all residents and visitors of the State of Qatar, exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The Water Quality Laboratory, which uses advanced and modern technology, works to ensure the safety of drinking water by examining samples daily and will intensify its work during the hosting period, to ensure the highest levels of quality and safety for Qatar’s water in all regions and facilities. Ambitious strategic plans have also been developed to raise the capacity of the strategic water reserve in the country to be fully prepared for the expected rise in water demand in the hosting year, Al Kuwari said.
On the other hand, the President of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation highlighted the main role of KAHRAMAA in adopting the District Cooling System to cool the World Cup stadiums, which are environmentally friendly systems that contribute to raising the level of effectiveness and efficiency. Compared to the traditional cooling solution, it saves energy of 40 percent in electricity and 98 percent in drinking water. This indicates that these systems, in turn, contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which reduces Qatar’s carbon footprint. Once again, it highlights the state’s commitment to climate action through its continuous pursuit of the goals of the Qatar National Climate Change Action Plan 2030, he added.
At the human factor and the workforce levels, through the combined efforts of its departments, KAHRAMAA presented a solid and distinguished model in focusing on the rights of workers and cadres working in World Cup related projects in the electricity and water sector, supervised by the Corporation over the past years. It focused on providing the necessary care and appropriate working conditions to ensure a decent life and preserve their physical and psychological health from any harm during work, is in line with the general direction of the State of Qatar to protect migrant workers and provide an appropriate work environment that guarantees their full rights, he stressed.
HE President of KAHRAMAA Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari said that the success of the State of Qatar in hosting this major sporting event represents a great step forward, and a new reaffirmation that there are no limits to its ambition.
“Together, we can achieve the impossible and raise Qatar’s name with honor,” he said, stressing that KAHRAMAA, has worked over the past 10 years to achieve this success by developing strategic plans related to the implementation of an integrated infrastructure that would support the operational processes, in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. (QNA)