News | Ministry of Transport

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Ministry Signs 4 MoUs, Explores Potential Ventures with Private Sector

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has signed here four memoranda of understanding (MoU) in land transport field as part of its efforts to develop a modern transport sector for the State of Qatar. The agreements also reflect Ministry’s efforts to encourage private sector’s contribution to mobility projects.The first MoU with Smart Transport to explore potential ventures was signed by Mr. Hassan Al Hail, the Minister’s Advisor, and Smart Transport’s Chairman Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Ali Al Attiyah.The project would reflect the Ministry’s interest in developing transport related manufacturing in the country. The MoTC envisioned itself to provide a multi-modal transport system that is integrated, accessible and inclusive for all citizens in the State of Qatar.In addition, this project invites public-private partnership, as it would help elevate the efficiency of facilities for local communities and support economic development. It is envisaged that these would assist in business development and contribute to achieving economic, social, human and environmental development goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.The second MoU with Union Global Projects to explore potential ventures was signed by Mr. Hassan Al-Hail, the Minister’s Advisor, and Union Global Project’s Chairman Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassim Ali Al Thani.The agreement reflects Ministry’s interest in developing transport-related manufacturing industries in the country to contribute to diversifying and expanding the economic activities in Qatar.The third MoU with Mawaqif Zakia to explore potential partnership to create an automated parking system in West Bay was signed by Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport Mr. Rashid Taleb Al Nabet and Mawaqif Zakia’s General Manager Mr. Mohamed Hlep.The project reflects the considerable attention the Ministry pays to providing an integrated transport system and solving parking problems in the country. It also promotes public-private partnerships, as it would help elevate the efficiency of facilities for local communities and support economic development. It is envisaged that these would assist in business development and contribute to achieving economic, social, human and environmental development goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.Moreover, in a strategic move to take the Connected & Automated Vehicles program (CAV) in Qatar to the next level, the Ministry signed an MoU with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC), per which a consortium on CAV is announced. This is the first consortium to be created on CAV in Qatar and the region aiming to create the ecosystem needed for facilitating early deployment of CAV at national and regional scale.The MoU was signed by Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport Mr. Rashid Taleb Al Nabet and QMIC’s Executive Director and CEO Dr. Adnan Abu-Dayya.This MoU officially declares the Ministry as a founding member of the consortium. Given its mandate and leading role in realizing advanced and seamless transport systems and road safety technologies in Qatar, the Ministry will play an important advisory role and aid in facilitating development and piloting activities in support of getting Qatar ready to deploy CAV systems and applications.CAV refers to the concept, where as part of newly emerging cooperative intelligent transport systems, vehicles will be able to communicate with one each other and with the road network wirelessly (V2X) according to global standards.This will enable the realization of next generation Road Safety Systems. It is considered as a key enabler for future autonomous and self-driving vehicles. Studies conducted by various transport authorities show that connected vehicles, if fully implemented, could mitigate up to 80% of road accidents. In the past, the focus has been on how to survive accidents; CAV aims to avoid them completely, as well as enhancing our daily driving experience, as a whole.QMIC has been very active in the area of CAV since 2010, and back in 2014, it carried out the first field demo of an industry-compliant V2X system and applications in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). As the next step to facilitate potential full deployment of technology in Qatar, QMIC has committed plans to carry out a field pilot of V2X systems (Qatar V2X pilot) and applications in 2017/2018 in Qatar. This will allow QMIC and its partners to test CAV in real field scenarios as vehicles and roadside units will be used together with a few applications.“Today’s MoU is a gateway for a strong partnership with QMIC. This is an exciting opportunity to adopt a new data-rich environment which will be the foundation for numerous new applications that will make our roads safer, less congested and more eco-friendly,” said Mr. Al Nabet.He added that the Ministry “works on providing world-class transportation and communication systems that support Qatar’s economic and social growth and sustainable development.” Dr. Adnan Abu-Dayya, the Executive Director and CEO of QMIC said: “Since 2011, we have outlined a long term strategy to become a leader in the area of intelligent mobility, in general, and in the CAV area, in particular. I am very glad to see us successfully moving from the R&D stage in CAV to the field piloting stage, which is a critical step towards getting Qatar ready for a potential large deployment before 2022. Our partnership with MoTC is a significant positive step for facilitating such deployment to the benefit of all stakeholders in Qatar. We look forward to welcoming other key stakeholders to this consortium, as collaboration and engagement are important keys for sustainable success. We also take this opportunity to thank the Qatar National Research Fund for supporting us in our CAV journey.”Per the MoU, the Qatar CAV consortium stakeholders will be holding periodic meetings (most probably every 3 months), during which the progress of the Qatar CAV pilot will be reviewed and discussed. These meetings will be a good platform for the involved partners to provide their perspectives and suggestions that not only could help in the success of the CAV program, but also in making its outcomes the most relevant to the country’s requirements.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

HE the Minister addresses a speech to Qatar UK Business and Investment Forum

London - DohaHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti called on all companies and businessmen to visit Qatar to explore the promising investment opportunities in the country, stressing that the State will provide all necessary facilities for foreign investors and companies.Addressing a session on transport and infrastructure on the sidelines of the Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum, which began today in London, Al Sulaiti said that the transport and communications sector in Qatar has seen significant growth in recent years, especially with the establishment of the Doha Metro and the fast train linking Qatar with the rest of the GCC countries.HE the Minister of Transport and Communications expressed his hope that the railway project, which will link the GCC countries, would commence by the end of this year, hoping that major foreign companies would contribute to the implementation of this huge project.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Workshop Held on ‘Integrated Public Transport Ticketing & Fare Collection System’ Tender

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications today organized a workshop for the companies participating in the Integrated Public Transport Ticketing & Fare Collection System tender. Companies were updated on the tender documents and all other relevant requirements.“Transport sector is the key element in economic, social and industrial development for all countries around the world. And based on that the Ministry of Transport and Communications is working in full swing to develop an effective mobility system that contributes to achieving economic growth and the strategic goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Mr. Rashid Taleb Al Nabet, Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport, in his opening remarks.He said the Ministry has been working on introducing a unified public transport ticketing and fare system in collaboration with key partners and would utilize all advanced technologies to provide better services for all public transport users. This would encourage people to use public transport services and thus lower their dependence on private cars, something that eventually would help preserve the environment and reduce pressure on transport infrastructure.The Integrated Public Transport Ticketing & Fare Collection System is a part of Ministry’s efforts to achieve harmony and integration in public transport infrastructure development process across Qatar. The goal is to provide smoother mobility system, alleviate pressure on the road network and boost traffic safety by developing multiple mobility mediums for all purposes.The Ministry will be deploying the latest technologies in the new system to accomplish its public transport systems integration plans.The new system consists of several components, including ticketing, issuance devices, monitoring systems and the central clearing system, and here arise the roles and responsibilities of the operating company, which will manage the new system under Ministry’s supervision.The public will be able to use the new system easily in all public transport mediums such as the metro, the Lusail Light Rail Transit and the Long Distance Passenger and Freight, buses, maritime transport, and taxis.The new system will contribute to improving road safety, mobility and convenience for commuters, reducing energy consumption for a cleaner environment and boosting economic productivity.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Qatar amongst global WSA-mobile 2016 winners

Doha –Two mobile applications from Qatar were amongst 40 Winners, selected from 451 nominations worldwide. WSA Mobile 2016 brought a diameter of innovation choosing the best of the best from Mexico to Bangladesh, from Qatar to Germany. The WSA Winners 2016 demonstrated the richness and diversity of mobile content globally and proved how mobile innovation can improve society.The World Summit Award is a global initiative within the framework of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSA is the only ICT event worldwide, that reaches the mobile community in over 178 countries. WSA highlights digital content improving society and focusses on local content with global relevance.The 2 winners were Accessible Qatar by Sasol and The “Arabic Alphabet Wheel,” Madar Al-Huruf by Qatar Foundation International.Accessible Qatar won in the Inclusion & Empowerment Category. This Mobile app , an initiative by Sasol, is a smart phone application where the disabled community is able to view the public and touristic locations and outlets in Qatar and see whether they are accessible and in what way. Having accessibility information publicly available on Accessible Qatar will encourage venues to make necessary modifications in support of accessibility for all patrons. Accessible Qatar will support promoting Qatar as an accessible destination.The “Arabic Alphabet Wheel,” Madar Al-Huruf by QFI won in the Learning and education Category. It matches English letters and sounds to their Arabic counterparts. The wheel gives new learners their first taste of the Arabic alphabet through engaging hands-on activities, in which users can transliterate proper nouns and their names while learning how to connect Arabic letters from left to right. The app includes sound to hear the spoken letters, so beginners are able to hear and sound out the Arab. The app also allows the user to customize and share their name in Arabic as a digital sticker online through Social Media. The WSA winners were selected by a Jury of international ICT experts in two democratic rounds. Each UN Member State had nominated prior to that stage one product per category through a national pre-selection committee assigned by Ms. Reem Al Mansoori. Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, is the Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Society Development Sector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the competition’s national expert. It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Transport and Communications had opened registration for the competition in March 2016 and invited mobile app developers in Qatar to submit applications for the World Summit Award Mobile (WSA-mobile) 2016; in one of the 8 WSA categories.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

HE the Minister Heads Qatar Delegation to 5th GCC eGovernment Ministerial Committee Meeting

Doha –HE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti is heading the Qatari delegation to the 5th GCC eGovernment Ministerial Committee meeting that opened in the Kingdom of Bahrain.Following the opening speech, Their Excellencies the Ministers launched the suspicious web site system (IP Reputation), which enables computer emergency response centers of the GCC member states to monitor and track suspicious web addresses around the world, in order to prevent threats that these addresses may cause.The Ministerial Committee also reviewed the initiatives of the first phase contained in the pilot eGovernment Strategy, which was finalized, and discussed the initiatives of the second phase to start putting them into action.The Committee also discussed the go-ahead with implementing five joint electronic services as a preliminary phase. The meeting has endorsed the information security strategy for cybersecurity of the GCC member states.In addition, the Ministerial Committee meeting discussed the recommendations of the GCC eGovernment Executive Committee at its recent meetings, which highlighted several topics related to e-government and IT in cybersecurity and information emergency response, as well as issues of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and joint eservices between GCC countries, which aims to enhance the role of e-government to service GCC citizens and improve the services provided to them easily through an effective and safe environment.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

HE the Minister Meets with Governor of Saudi CITC

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti met here Tuesday with HE Dr. Abdulaziz Salem Al Rwais, Governor of the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).The two officials discussed the cooperation between the two brotherly countries in the field of information and communications technology and means of further boosting and developing them.The meeting was attended by HE Mohammed Ali Al-Mannai, President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA).