SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 3 FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2020 YEARS OF DIGNITY AND PROSPERITY Citizens, residents unite behind the leadership to triumph the siege 02 FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2020 yearsy of DIGNITY & 3PROSPERITY FRIDAY 5 JUNE 202020 03 yearsy of DIGNITY & 3PROSPERITY THE DOHA METRO One of the largest public infrastructure projects in the world world-class achievement not matched anywhere else in the world. The Doha Metro has been a huge hit with the people of Doha. There have been more than 17 million passenger trips since the start of opera- tions, exceeding all ridership expectations. The Doha Metro will soon be joined in operation by the new Lusail Tram, which will service the Lusail development with passenger services from this year. Qatar Rail moved quickly and decisively to mit- igate and manage huge risks to delivery. These actions were extremely successful, resulting in no eventual impact on the schedule and the first set of Doha Metro trains arrived 3 months earlier than the set schedule. Qatar Rail identified all affected materials and equipment and worked with its contractors to establish alternative delivery routes and/or sup- pliers. This exercise was completed in just a matter of weeks, with all materials since then delivered directly to Qatar by sea or air. In addition, Qatar Rail seized the opportunity to support the move of a number of manufacturing and assembly activities to Qatar which created an added benefit of developing local industry. Metro customers can view available metrolink The opening of the station at award winning routes and plan their journey by downloading the Hamad International Airport enables a seamless Qatar Rail mobile app or by visiting the website. “Plane to Train” experience for those arriving into Qatar, offering fast and frequent services from the Customers can now also save time, with no need airport to the major cultural, tourist and business to queue at the station by using the Debit Card districts of Doha, meaning it’s now easier than Top Up on the App to add travel credit to their ever for visitors to explore everything the city has Travel Card before they leave home. to offer. New service for Debit Card Top Up will be available on our App when the Metro service In Commissioning the Doha Metro, additional resumes seamless connectivity has been provided for cus- tomers by metrolink, Qatar Rail’s feeder bus Ridership has grown steadily since the launch of service (operated by our partner Mowasalat). the Metro exceeding all expectation metrolink services act as a seamless facilitator for customers getting to and from metro stations and By January 2020 daily ridership had exceeded HIGHLIGHTS OF DOHA METRO their surrounding areas 145k The Doha Metro is one of the largest public infra- Whilst we are waiting to welcome our customers structure projects in the world. The State of Qatar Doha Metro also launched the Doha Metro metro- back on board when the Doha Metro resumes set itself a most ambitious goal – to complete the express, a complimentary ride sharing service in service, we have updated our service offer to project from concept design to passenger service the West Bay area to enable customers to travel ensure the highest levels of cleanliness and 84% in just 7 short years. This enormous task was seamless to and from the key stations in the area sanitisation entrusted to Qatar Rail and its strategic partners. Local business Qatar Rail’s world-class delivery team overcame participation was every challenge to complete the project on time a core objective and under budget, setting new benchmarks for and 84% of all performance and delivery, whilst maintaining the metrolink highest standards of safety, quality and contracts were governance. awarded to the local private Local business participation was a core objective metrolink and 84% of all contracts were awarded to the services act as sector. In local private sector. In addition, an entire gener- addition, an ation of young Qatari engineers and project man- a seamless entire generation agers have benefited from working on the project. facilitator for of young Qatari The project was closely coordinated with the customers engineers and massive construction drive across the country in getting to and preparation for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. These from metro project managers projects, and the Doha Metro in particular, have have benefited transformed Doha for future generations. stations and from working on their The project required over 750 million man-hours surrounding the project. to complete and achieved an industry-beating accident frequency rate of just 0.012 – a truly areas 04 FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2020 yearsy of DIGNITY & 3PROSPERITY Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited a number of countries from east to west in the last three years where he received rousing welcome and numerous heads of governments/states visited Qatar which was a solid expression of world’s trust on Qatar and its regional, international role in spheres of economy, diplomacy and pol- itics. H H the Amir addressed the opening sessions of UN General Assembly in 2017, 2018 and 2019 which were widely covered by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani international media giving a speech at the General Debate of the and hugely praised by 74th session of the UN General Assembly. the world leaders. Qatar’s global stature enhanced THE PENINSULA UK, Germany and talked on almost all regional/global media outlets to hen the unjust present Qatar’s case with full force with blockade was the help of facts to beat blockading imposed on Qatar in countries fake-news tactics. June 2017 the block- Along the Ministry of Foreign ading countries Affairs, the other institutions of the Wplanned, with the help of false accu- State of Qatar like the Shura Council sations, to isolate Qatar from the world also defeated blockading countries community but all of their designs plan of isolating Qatar from the world ended in fiasco. community. The Shura Council, Qatar under wise leadership of National Human Rights Committee, the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry Al Thani has not only proved all alle- of Defence hosted a number of global gations levelled against the country events in Qatar which were attended wrong at every forum of the world but by the parliamentarians, human rights has also succeeded in winning global activists, top security experts, dip- support in favour of its stance on the lomats, academia among others from Gulf crisis. Qatar in the last three years across the world which was another has emerged as an important and expression of world’s trust on Qatar respectable member of world com- and its leadership. The Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, (centre), with Gabriela Cuevas Barron munity further enhancing its position Dozens of high-profile cultural (left), President of International Parliamentary Union (IPU); and Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of IPU; addressing and role in global organizations events held during last three years also the 140th Assembly of the IPU held at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel in April 2019. including the United Nations. brought Qatar closer to world nations. H H the Amir visited a number of Qatar-Germany 2017 Year of Culture, countries from east to west in the last Qatar-Russia 2018 Year of Culture, three years where he received rousing Qatar-India 2019 Year of Culture were welcome and numerous heads of gov- marked with great success while ernments/states visited Qatar which Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture is was a solid expression of world’s trust being celebrated this year. on Qatar and its regional, international Qatar’s mediation efforts to end the role in spheres of economy, diplomacy war in Afghanistan crossed a major mile- and politics. H H the Amir addressed stone on February 28, 2020 when the the opening sessions of UN General United States and the Taliban signed an Assembly in 2017, 2018 and 2019 which agreement in Doha for bringing peace were widely covered by international to the country in the presence of US Sec- media and hugely praised by the world retary of State, Mike Pompeo. leaders. The governments of the State of Through Qatar’s active and vibrant Qatar and the United States held the diplomacy, Deputy Prime Minister and inaugural Strategic Dialogue in Wash- Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh ington D.C. in January 2018 while the Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, second Strategic Dialogue was held in Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and other dignitaries defeated blockading countries propa- Doha in January 2019. at the opening of the 16th Ministerial Meeting of the Member States of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), in Doha. ganda onslaught against Qatar. Imme- Also in February 2020, Qatar hosted diately after imposition of blockade the second high-level meeting of the Against Corruption (GOPAC). world. Minister of Foreign Affairs participated against Qatar, H E the Minister of Global Judicial Integrity Network. The Earlier in April 2019, the 141st Deputy Prime Minister and Min- in a discussion panel in the Munich Foreign Affairs visited dozens of coun- meeting was hosted by the Supreme Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary ister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Security Conference (MSC) on February tries to present country’s principled Judiciary Council under the title ‘Past, Union (IPU) and its related meetings Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, 17, 2019. stance on the crisis. H E the Minister of Present, Future’. On December 9-10, were held in Doha which was attended on May 1, 2019 opened the 16th Min- National Human Rights Committee Foreign Affairs also addressed 2019, Qatar hosted 7th Conference of by over 400 participants (Speakers, isterial Meeting of the Member States (NHRC) was appointed on three leading important think tanks in the US, the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Parliamentarians) from across the of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) positions during the General Assembly in Doha.