The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’

Ashghal (Arabic: هيئة الأشغال العامة‎) is the Public Works Authority of Qatar headquartered in Al Dafna, Doha. Ashghal was established based on the Emiri Decree issued by the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on 20 January 2004, as an autonomous body to design, deliver and manage all infrastructure related projects as well as public amenities of the State. Ashghal is responsible for the construction and maintenance of local roads, drainage systems, highways and public buildings like mosques, schools, hospital, health centers, parks, etc.

Organizational structure

The current president of Ashghal is H.E. Dr. Eng. Saad Ahmed Al Mohannadi.

Ashghal’s business units consist of five major affairs:

• Infrastructure Affairs
• Asset Affairs
• Buildings Affairs
• Technical Support Affairs
• Shared Services Affairs

Programmes

Ashghal currently has the following key programmes:

• The Expressway Programme
• The Local Roads & Drainage Programme

Responsibilities

Ashghal is responsible for building infrastructure facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar. The Arab country plans to spend up to $100 billion^[7] in infrastructure projects between 2013 and 2022. Various companies like CH2M Hill, KBR, and Parsons Brinckerhoff^[10] are associated with many of Ashghal’s projects.

Criticisms

Ashghal has been awarded many contracts and infrastructure projects contributing to preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Doha. Qatar has received a substantial amount of criticism and controversy surrounding their World Cup bid, most of which surrounds the treatment labor workers hired for infrastructure projects. Reports from multiple sources estimated that roughly 4000 migrant workers would lose their lives in the building process, many of them unaccounted for, one estimate claiming at least one worker a day would die. Sharan Burrow, of the International Trade Union Confederation claimed that the workers were “basically slaves”, claiming that “the Qatari government [has] no commitment to human rights”

OVERVIEW

The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ was established in 2004 to be responsible for the design, construction, delivery, and asset management of all infrastructure projects and public buildings in Qatar.

Ashghal’s key responsibilities include governing the design, construction, and management of major projects including roads, drainage and buildings such as public buildings, schools and hospitals. Adhering to the Qatar National Vision 2030, the authority contributes to the economic and social development of the State of Qatar, with projects serving ports, logistics and industrial areas as well as communities in local areas.

Ashghal has employed a powerful model of strategic outsourcing and partnership with local and international leading establishments that will bring capacity and capabilities to ensure Qatar rates at par with the most developed nations in the world in the field of infrastructure.

With high aspirations for the future, Ashghal is committed to undertake a huge infrastructure development that will support the future socioeconomic growth of the country. Ashghal’s contribution to the overall sustainable economic and social development of the State is pivotal to the future enhancement of Qatar.

Ashghal operates in alignment with its corporate strategy that outlines its direction and the operational procedures, which need to be followed in order to achieve the organization’s mission and vision. In line with its strategy and objectives, the authority works to deliver projects that implement the best practices in infrastructure development and management.

Ashghal’s strategy is driven by four key themes:

1. Health and Safety:

With the award of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar’s Health, Safety and Welfare performance is a key area of focus for the local and international community. The Government of Qatar has put in place improvement measures which will set the benchmark for regional Health, Safety and Welfare performance. To support this objective, Ashghal must continuously design, build, operate and manage infrastructure, with the Health, Safety and Welfare of employees, contractors and customers being the top priority.

2. Delivering Excellence:

The delivery of excellent projects and services is fundamental to Ashghal’s continuing success, whereby the delivery of our projects and services on time, on budget to the right quality are critical success factors. Ashghal will focus on value for money and the environmental sustainability of our projects and services. Ashghal also strives to ensure asset availability and minimal customer disruption.

3. Develop Capabilities:

Ashghal is moving from an outsourced to an insourced project management delivery model for our projects and programmes. We are also building our Asset Management capability to manage the significant volume of assets to be delivered in 2022 and beyond. This would require robust transition plans and efficient knowledge transfer from the outgoing PMCs to our internal resources.

Qatarisation remains a priority, but we shall also invest in the employment and development of non-Qataris to ensure that we are sufficiently skilled to support our customers’ needs. We shall continue to develop our Public-Private-Partnership and ensure a resilient supply chain. Ashghal will also continue to promote the growth of our Qatari Small Medium Enterprises (SME).

4. Customers and Stakeholders:

Our customers, the residents of Qatar and the Qatari Government entities we work for, rely on Ashghal to deliver its commitments efficiently. We are a service organisation and must have a continuous focus on improving the value of our services to our customers and stakeholders. To do this effectively, we must improve our understanding of our customers and stakeholders and their needs, through leading practices, and by monitoring and improving our performance based on their feedback. By delivering our customer promises, we hope to maintain and build the trust needed to remain at the centre of Qatar’s infrastructure development programme.

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The authority’s major business units consist of three major directorates:

Projects Affairs
The Projects Affairs is responsible for governing the design, construction, delivery and maintenance of all expressways, roads and drainage networks that cater to current and future demand across Qatar.
 
It consists of five departments:

• Design Department
• Roads Projects Department
• Highway Projects Department
• Drainage Networks Projects Department
• Buildings Projects Department       

Assets Affairs

• Drainage Networks Operation & Maintenance Department
• Road Operations and Maintenance Department   

• Human Resources Department
• Financial and Administrative Affairs Department
• Information System Department
• General Services Department

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