Abu Samra border crossing can now handle double the amount of visitors thanks to new expansion plans.

The Abu Samra border crossing’s capacity has been doubled to 4,000 people per hour in order to ensure seamless entry for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 spectators travelling by road.

Two new entry and exit facilities at the Abu Samra checkpoint have been built, according to Yousuf Ahmed Al Hammadi, Assistant Director of Land Customs Department at the General Authority of Customs, each measuring 5,000 square metres.

“Expecting a huge number of fans by road during the mega sporting event, the General Authority of Customs has expanded Abu Samra checkpost facilities and installed most advanced equipment to speed up the entry process of travellers,” he said during an interview with Al Rayyan TV.

“Each facility has 22 counters for the procedures required by the passport office in addition to screening equipment for customs inspection and entry points for fans.”

He claimed that the most cutting-edge machinery had been deployed to expedite the passport office and customs inspection process. He also revealed that the checkpoint can now accommodate 2,000 spectators each hour.

If the number of travellers increase, both facilities could be combined into one for entry or exit, depending on the situation, raising the capacity to 4,000 people per hour at a time.

In order to accommodate the increased number of visitors travelling to watch the FIFA World Cup matches, the official explained that the facilities have been created to make entry-only or exit-only at a time easier.

The checkpoint at Abu Samra’s existing counters that currently assist travellers in automobiles will continue to do so throughout the mega tournament.

Such efforts were put in place due to the expected high number of fans travelling by car from the GCC this coming November and December, with authorities already highlighting an increase in visitors.

In July, Qatar welcomed 151,000 international visitors, the most in a single summer month since 2017.

According to a statement issued by the Qatar Tourism Authority earlier this month, citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries accounted for 62% of total visitors.

Visitors from Saudi Arabia made up 43% of all visitors, followed by India at 7%, Oman 6%, Kuwait 4%, Bahrain 5%, the UAE 4%, the United States 3%, and the United Kingdom 3%.