'Heart of Doha' work to start by year-end

Construction on the first phase of the “Heart of Doha” project is set to start soon

Work on Phase One of the “Heart of Doha” project will begin in the last quarter of this year, Dohaland officials said yesterday.

Demolition work is underway for Phase One, which is divided into stages 1A and 1B, in the Musheireb (Mohamed bin Jassim) area, as part of an ambitious effort to “rediscover the architecture” of the Doha of the 50s.

The QR20bn, 35-hectare mixed-use Heart of Doha project will eventually be completed in 2016 in five phases with the first one being financially supported by Qatar Foundation, of which Dohaland, the developer, is a subsidiary.

“A local company with its parent office in the UAE is already carrying out the “enabling work” in Phase 1A as construction will begin in the fourth quarter of 2009,” Dohaland projects director Mohamed Masoud al-Marri said.

“Phase 1A will be completed in 2012. It will be a commercial zone housing government offices, just like in the old days.”

Construction for phase 1B (starting from Street 790) started in the first quarter of 2010 and will end in the third quarter of 2013, the official added.

“We invited all the interested contractors on June 28 for a meeting so we could identify potential agreements. We are also aiming to minimise project neighbours,” Dohaland project interface manager Ahmed al-Sada explained.

To keep the residents in the neighbourhood of the densely-populated district at ease, Dohaland will conduct surveys and seek feedback as to how noise, dust and construction-related pollution could best be mitigated.

“At least up to 100m of the area surrounding the project will be cordoned off when construction work starts,” al-Sada said.

The master plan drawn up by Dohaland shows the project having 226 buildings, three to 30-storey high. On completion, the integrated city will be able to accommodate a population of more than 27,000.

“What kind of people will live there is still subject to further market research. However it will accommodate all; low, middle and high income groups,” al-Marri said. “Allotment will not be restricted to Qataris only,” he added.

The project embodies Dohaland’s role as a developer of innovative urban living environments and it has sought the expertise of institutions like Harvard and Princeton universities and Agha Khan Foundation, according to al-Marri.

The proposed amenities at the new development include centralised district cooling, gas network, a vacuum waste disposal system, a dedicated cycle-way and a tram service to Souq Waqif.

[Sidebar] Dohaland vows to retain the area’s heritage Dohaland plans to retain the names of well-known streets in the Heart of Doha development. Some of the oldest and most well known streets in the country were located in Musheireb: Shara Kahraba, [words appear cut off but visible: Nakheel, Jibrout, hsara, Ukaze and Sukat al-Wadi]. “We have also identified some of the old structures that will be preserved. This process took at least a year,” an official said. Page 3