Lusail Bus Depot, which is considered as the world’s largest electric bus depot with a capacity of 478 buses, was inaugurated yesterday.
Minister of Transport H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti inaugurated the depot. Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, President of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi and officials from Qatari transportation industry and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), attended the event.
Located in Lusail City, north of Doha, the depot was developed in an area of more than 400,000 square metres. The Depot, part of Ministry of Transport’s (MoT) Public Bus Infrastructure Program, consists of 24 multipurpose buildings, in addition to bus bays, service facilities, recreational facilities, green spaces, and substations.
The depot also features approximately 11,000 PV solar panels covering a total area of over 25,000 square metres to generate 4 megawatts of power to feed the depot’s buildings with needed power.
Talking to media, Minister of Transport H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti said that after successful hosting of World Cup, Qatar will be first country in the world in the term of using huge public transit powered by clean energy.
“We have clean energy of all types. Gas is clean energy 100 percent but we opted to diversify the sources of energy, so this depot, equipped to generate 4 megawatts of solar power, has become the largest of this kind in the world. This will serve mainly to the mega sporting event but it also follows Qatar National Vision 2030,” he added.
“Lusail Bus Depot, which is considered the world’s largest electric bus depot, is inaugurated in the context of Ministry’s effort of providing an integrated and sustainable public transit network that covers all areas of the country,” said Minister Al Sulaiti said in a statement.
Today’s event, he noted, and the previous inaugurations within the Public Bus Infrastructure Program are particularly important as they coincide with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and will contribute to supporting tournament’s mobility plans through providing multimodal, ecofriendly transportation modes that offer visitors and the public an exceptional experience.
He added: “This bus depot is the first in the Middle East relying on solar energy as it includes some 11,000 PV solar panels to generate 4 megawatts of power daily to feed its buildings, and this is in line with Qatar’s National Environment and Climate Change Strategy (QNE) goals, and helps achieve the leadership’s vision and QNV2030 goals.”
He also said that the Depot has a special zone for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) e-buses, which is one of the newest mobility modes in Qatar that will contribute to supporting fan transportation during FIFA tournament from Lusail Stadium to Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
Minister of Transport H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti (third left), Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani (second left), President of Ashghal Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi (first right) at inauguration of Lusail Bus Depot.
Technical Affairs Department Director, MoT, Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalid Al-Thani, said that inaugurating Lusail Bus Depot at this time is a result of concerted efforts to deliver one of the Public Bus Infrastructure Program’s most important projects that supports ecofriendly e-buses, thus boosting transportation sector’s sustainable development.
The depot is divided into three zones. The first zone includes 478 parking bays for e-buses equipped with 248 electric charging equipment.
The second zone includes accommodations for all the depot staff with a capacity of 1400 people. The third zone is a depot for BRT e-buses. It includes 24 bays equipped with 24 electric chargers.
