Contractors in Qatar could face fines if they miss deadlines related to road work and excavation projects under a new enforcement system being considered by the public works authority.

Speaking at a Central Municipal Council (CMC) meeting yesterday, an Ashghal official said the organization was looking into introducing the penalties as a way to keep projects on schedule and reduce the public impact of having so many dug-up roads in Qatar.

Yusuf Abdulrahman al-Emadi, director of Ashghal’s road maintenance department, said that under the new proposal, Ashghal would assess each job and set a time-frame for completion of digging works.

The authority would monitor progress and if the works go past schedule, the contractor could be penalized, according to Gulf Times.

These new rules could be rolled out as early as next month, the newspaper added.

Call for action

With thousands of vehicles joining Qatar’s already busy roads each month, pressure is on authorities to take steps to reduce congestion where possible.

Reducing the time that roads are closed for digging is being seen as one way of addressing this problem.

Ashghal’s announcement came as several CMC member relayed public concerns over the number of roadworks taking place around central Doha at one time, which they said led to delays.

Also at the CMC meeting, an official from Kahraama (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation) said that the problem partly stemmed from householders’ requests for improved utilities infrastructure.

“Kahramaa faces a challenge when many house owners submit requests to increase their water and electricity load and get it approved by the municipality. This entails digging,” Kahramaa’s Nasser Mohamed al-Nuaimi is quoted by Gulf Times as saying.

Penalties are something that other government entities are also rolling out. At the same meeting, a Doha Municipality officer said that the body had recently begun blacklisting contractors who fail to keep to the terms of their agreements.

Salim Hammoud al Shafi, Director of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning (MMUP)’s monitoring section, said the new system is being deployed on a trial basis to deny new contracts to companies that have previously found to have violated terms and conditions of their agreements, in a bid to improve efficiency, Qatar Tribune reports.

Qatar’s infrastructure is undergoing a substantial overhaul, as Ashghal undertakes a number of huge projects including its seven-year, QR16 billion Expressway program and more than 200 works related to local roads and drainage program, in addition to upgrading Doha’s sewerage system.

This is as well as digging projects undertaken by a number of other organizations including Kahramaa.

Do you think a penalty system would help speed up construction here? Thoughts?