www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS | 23 SPORT | 30 Need to look beyond Suarez Navarroro ultra-easy policy for clinches Qatarr growth: G20 Total Open titlele SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2016 • 19 Jumada I 1437 • Volume 20 • Number 6720 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar 1,000MW solar Emir attends closing ceremony of Sword Racing Festival power firm to be set up soon Mohannadi said that the option of having a coal-fired plant is a big no. Economic viability of Nuclear power is also not the option the project proven, because it’s too late, and the size of the country is also a constraint. Wind says QEWC managing has very little viability. So the only director. viable renewable source of energy is solar, he added. “I believe by 2019 prices of oil and gas will recover enough to By Mohammad Shoeb make solar the most viable option. The Peninsula Therefore, solar is going to be the backbone of the source of energy in future.” The QEWC and its foreign invest- DOHA: A solar power company with ment arm, Nebras Power, is currently a capacity of 1,000 megawatt will involved in about a dozen local and be formed soon. The joint venture international projects of various between Qatar Electricity and Water sizes in different countries, includ- Company (QEWC) and Qatar Petro- ing the US, Turkey, Croatia, Tunisia, leum (QP) will have an initial capital Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. of about QR1.82bn ($500m). For example the Asfin El Bistan The company has cleared legal Project in Turkey aims at estab- hurdles and has been approved by lishing a number of stations for authorities, said a senior official of electricity generation by coal with QEWC, Qatar’s main producer of a capacity of 4,500MW in addition utilities services. to coal mine exploration in Kahra- Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani patronised the closing ceremony of H H the Emir’s Sword Racing Festival at the Equestrian “The project has been decided manmaras in Ankara. based on the fact that producing Similarly, Nebras is also involved Club in Al Rayyan yesterday. The race was attended by H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Prime Minister and Interior solar power is cheaper than buy- in yet another big foreign venture Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. The Emir handed over the Golden Sword to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa ing gas from international market,” ‘Fadhili project for Power, Water and Al Thani, the owner of Ghazwan and the winner of the main-half and handed H H the Emir’s award to Khalifa bin Sheail bin Khalifa Al Fahad Hamad Al Mohanadi, Man- Steam generation’ in neighbouring Kuwari, owner of The Blue Eye — winner in the seventh game. → See also page 29 aging Director of QEWC, told The Saudi Arabia with generation capac- Peninsula on the sidelines of the ity of 1,600MW of electricity, about company’s AGM recently. 768.8 tonnes of water per hour, and “We have carried out a detailed 3.19 million pounds of steam per study that proved the economic via- hour. bility of the project. The proposed Asked about the financing of Licences of 9 engineering consultancies revoked project has been approved and now its projects, he said the company we are in the process of establishing explored the option of issuing bonds, the company very soon.” but found that offers by commercial Once the company is established banks are more attractive than issu- The Peninsula grade consultancies. There are still judicial powers. They launch inspec- engineers at construction sites, non- by a partnership between QEWC ing bonds. “For smaller projects of some consultancies with engineers tion drives and detect violations at registration of engineers with the (60pc) and QP (40pc), international less than $500m, QEWC will source not registered with authorities. construction sites and offices of con- committee and flouting of rules on firms will be invited to compete for funds from local banks while for big- DOHA: Tightening its grip on A committee at the Ministry sultancy firms. specialisation of engineers. Engineers the 40 percent stake in a way fol- ger ones such as Umme Al Houl, it engineering consultancies, the gov- of Municipality and Environment A total of 325 engineering con- with specialisation need to supervise lowed by QEWC for its past projects. will go to the international market,” ernment has cancelled the licences of licenses engineers and engineering sultancies, including international some work on construction sites, said Replying to a question on said Al Mohannadi. at least nine errant firms and detected consultancies. firms, operate in the country. Accord- Al Sadd, himself an engineer. using alternative forms of energy 87 violations this year. Many members of the Com- ing to committee head Khalid Al Sadd, to produce electricity in Qatar, Al → Continued on page 4 The punished firms include A mittee have recently been given violations this year include absent → Continued on page 7 Djibouti President After five years, guns fall silent in Syria arrives today AFP five months of intense air strikes against rebels DOHA: Djibouti President Ismail in support of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Omar Guelleh arrives in Doha said it had halted bombing in all areas covered today on an official visit, reports by the truce. QNA. Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin DAMASCUS: Fighting subsided across much of Moscow has vowed to keep striking IS, Hamad Al Thani will meet Guelleh Syria yesterday as the first major ceasefire of the Al Nusra and other “terrorist groups”, but said tomorrow to discuss cooperation devastating, five-year war appeared to broadly it would ground all its warplanes in the Syria between the two countries. hold despite sporadic breaches in parts of the campaign on the first day of the truce to avoid battle-scarred country. potential “mistakes”. EU foreign policy chief The truce, brokered by Washington and Mos- Federica Mogherini said the lull in fighting was cow, is seen as a crucial step towards ending a “the first chance to put an end to violence on the US curbs on conflict that has claimed 270,000 lives and dis- ground and should not be missed”. placed more than half the population. “If it holds, it will create the conditions for It faces formidable challenges including the full, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian data collection exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group access throughout Syria,” she added. and Al Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al Nusra Front, Among the limited ceasefire breaches, state from Europe which control large parts of the country. media said “terrorist groups” fired a number of “Honestly, I was surprised that the calm shells on Damascus but caused no casualties. lasted through the night,” said Ammar Al Rai, a Rebels also accused the government of inter- BRUSSELS: US has set out lim- 22-year-old medical student in Damascus. mittent “truce violations” in parts of the country. its to its use of data collected in “I think this is the first time we’ve woken up In Aleppo, Syria’s second city, two people bulk about European citizens after without the sound of shelling.” were killed and four wounded when shells hit an information-sharing pact was UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks the majority-Kurdish neighbourhood of Sheikh agreed this month, according to would resume on March 7 if the ceasefire pre- Maqsud, according to the Syrian Observatory for documents. A clear explanation of vails and more aid is delivered — a key sticking Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. what information could be used point in negotiations. Syrian state media said one person was for— preventing its “indiscrimi- A special international task force, co-chaired killed by sniper fire in the same district. nate” and “arbitrary” use—was a by Moscow and Washington, was due to meet Aleppo city is now almost completely encir- key condition of the new Privacy behind closed doors in Geneva yesterday to mon- cled by pro-regime troops after a massive Shield framework that enables itor the truce. De Mistura said it was important Russian-backed offensive that has caused tens firms to easily transfer personal Syrians visit the national museum after a ceasefire went into effect in the capital Damascus, that any incidents are “quickly brought under of thousands to flee in recent weeks. data to the US . control” and a military response should be the yesterday. “last resort”. Russia, which has waged nearly → See also page 7 →See also page 18 02 SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2016 HOME Swedish Minister reviews education ties with Qatar of Technology (KTH), Chalmers Uni- Helene Knutsson versity, and presidents of several national agencies for higher educa- and her high-level tion and research. delegation hold Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr Mohammed Abdul meetings with Wahed Ali Al Hammadi hosted a Minister and top dinner in her honour at Museum of Islamic Art where they exchanged officials. views on how to develop relations in the field of higher education and research. On Thursday morning, Knuts- The Peninsula son and her delegation visited Qatar Swedish Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson speaking at one of the meetings. University and had a meeting with President Dr Hassan Rashid Al Der- ham. Many topics were discussed but DOHA: Swedish Minister for Higher one key message from Knutsson was with QU, Lund University’s “Centre her country, said Swedish Ambassa- and entrepreneurship courses will Commonwealth University (VCU) was Education and Research Helene Hell- to encourage Qatari students to study for Middle Eastern Studies’ and the dor Ewa Polano.