Skip to main content

Qatar’s new highway requires huge logistics operation

In the Middle East nation Qatar, a large-scale highway project is underway that will make significant improvements for vehicle capacity and cut journey times for drivers. The new route will also improve transport connections between Qatar’s ports and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the new highway will carry much of the heavy vehicle traffic travelling between the two countries.
October 26, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
Asphalt producer Al Jaber & Makhlouf had to upgrade its production facilities to meet the demands of the project
In the Middle East nation Qatar, a large-scale highway project is underway that will make significant improvements for vehicle capacity and cut journey times for drivers

The new route will also improve transport connections between Qatar’s ports and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the new highway will  carry much of the heavy vehicle traffic travelling between the two countries.

The new orbital highway will connect the main city of Doha with the ports of Qatar and the border with Saudi Arabia. The highway project measures around 40km long and features seven traffic lanes, with the structure having been designed to cope with heavy vehicle loads as well as high traffic volumes. The construction project has been divided into four phases, with the current phase requiring the production of about 3 million tonnes of asphalt.

“It is the biggest project in terms of quantity of asphalt in Qatar at the moment,” said Youssef Ghadban, plant manager for Al Jaber & Makhlouf, which is manufacturing the asphalt. The company is a regional leader in asphalt output and has a significant presence in Qatar, where it operates five plants. The company also has a significant presence in Lebanon, where it operates four asphalt plants.

Productivity was identified early on as being crucial for this large-scale road construction project to meet its tight schedule. The 3 million tonnes of asphalt will have to be manufactured within two years.

“It was a challenge for us because we were producing around 500,000-600,000tonnes yearly,” said Roger Makhlouf, managing director of Al Jaber & Makhlouf. “Now it will be up to 1.5 million tonnes yearly, so it’s a big move and it was a big challenge for the company – and for 6791 Ammann, to, because we had to customise the plants for this project.”

The production demands made plant reliability crucial. The ability to make varied mixes was another requirement. Given the high temperatures experienced in Qatar at times, the mixes have also been specially formulated to cope with the climate and to eliminate the risk of any issues associated with deformation.

Al Jaber & Makhlouf employed two Ammann ABA 340 Unibatch Asphalt-Mixing Plants on the ring road project. The company made extensive use of support from Ammann as well as the sophisticated as1 Control System to allow it to keep pace with the needs of the demanding highway project.

Once the highway is complete, it will help reduce congestion on surrounding minor roads and will also improve safety for road users. The highway will cut journey times from Doha to its ports and also to the border with Saudi Arabia, helping to lower transport costs.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Energy Saving Roads - The Future Way of Sustainable Infrastructure
    April 23, 2019
    A workshop into environmentally-friendly road construction was held in Denmark - report from Mikkel Bruun, Bruun Communication Recent advances in road construction have included the development of climate asphalt, which reduces rolling resistance and saves CO2. But what is it and how does it affect the production and use of asphalt pavements? And what are the socio-economic implications? The ROSE project that just ended with a workshop in Copenhagen might hold the answers. The rule of thumb is that lo
  • Efficient processing of RAP in the mix
    December 19, 2017
    There are important methods aimed at the reuse and recycling of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) a number of problems have to be solved however, mainly concerning the elimination of moisture content and how best to heat the RAP without damaging the binder. When RAP is used in percentages of up to 30-40% of the final mix, heating can be carried out through direct contact with hot aggregates. On the other hand, in order to use higher RAP percentages, up to 100%, the plant has to be fitted with a specific h
  • Bitumen technology: crude moves and carbon savings for the industry
    July 11, 2022
    As bitumen suppliers look to replace Russian sources of crude oil, there’s a race to get biogenic asphalts to market – and bank those carbon-saving benefits - Kristina Smith writes
  • Traffic control solution manufacturers win key project works
    September 26, 2013
    Traffic control system manufacturers have recently supplied some of their cutting-edge technology to major projects in Europe. Meanwhile, in southern Asia, another leading firm in the sector is helping reduce chronic traffic congestion in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. Guy Woodford reports Solutions supplied by Siemens Mobility & Logistics (M&L) are helping the Rijkswaterstaat improve traffic conditions at the Coentunnel in Amsterdam, one of the most heavily used traffic arteries in the Netherlands, used