Partner Content

A partner’s perspective on working with Sharakat

Saudi Arabia’s water scarcity is at the centre of a blossoming infrastructure market, with private partners at its core. Its prosperity is reflected in the success of a number of flagship projects

By SHARAKAT

Located on the western edge of Doha, Education City covers an area of 15 million square metres and houses most of the initiatives Qatar Foundation (QF) has backed.

The city contains eight branch campuses of international universities, the Qatar Science & Technology Park, the $2.3bn Sidra Medical & Research Centre, a convention centre, an equestrian centre, a diabetes centre, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and the Al-Jazeera Children’s Channel television station.

Since 2006, QF has launched more than $6.5bn-worth of construction schemes at Education City. The schemes are managed by Astad, a project management company formed by the foundation and state energy firm Qatar Petroleum.

QF has enlisted world-renowned architects to design the buildings at the site in order to create aesthetically striking, modern facilities that reflect both the surrounding environment and Qatar’s Islamic heritage, while being practical.

The masterplan for the campus was drawn up by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, who also designed several buildings on the site. Sustainability has been a central element of the schemes and QF has set itself the target of earning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-building ratings for all its future developments.

About one-third of the scheme has been completed and the rest is due for completion by 2020. Additional land has been acquired adjacent to Education City, allowing for further expansion.

The site is planned to have a main railway station, which will connect a light rail system for travel within the campus to the under-construction Doha Metro. The station will also allow access to the GCC railway when it is built.

In September 2015, QF received the first batch of trams for Education City from Germany’s Siemens. The 19 Siemens Avenio trams will operate on an 11.5-kilometre-long route with 24 stations.

An energy storage system will enable the trams to recharge at each station and operate without overhead power lines, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption of up to 30 per cent, and lower carbon dioxide emissions compared with standard trams.

The project is not the only environmentally focused initiative being developed by QF. Other plans involve developing a car-free zone, solar-panelled roofs, wind turbines and green building designs, as well as encouraging healthy and active lifestyles among the city’s residents.