From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Feb 25 2010 - 01:02:38 EST
Mowasalat eyes Eritrea tie-up
By Bonnie James
Thursday25/2/2010February, 2010, 12:24 AM Doha Time
Deputy News Editor
Qatar's public transport company Mowasalat is eyeing a major tie-up with
the Eritrean government with a view to providing complete transport
solutions.
"An announcement is to be made in the next few weeks," Mowasalat
chairman and managing director Jassim Saif Ahmed al-Sulaiti has said.
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, who visited Mowasalat headquarters in
Abu Hamour, held discussions with al-Sulaiti and other senior officials.
The dignitary toured the sprawling Mowasalat campus, including the Karwa
City, which is scheduled for opening in April.
"Transportation would be the main area of our co-operation with
Eritrea," stated al-Sulaiti. Supply of Karwa brand buses, made
exclusively for Mowasalat, is also on the agenda.
The Mowasalat CMD clarified that the Eritrean President was visiting
Mowasalat in his own initiative.
"He wanted to know more about our company and our activities and
expressed immense satisfaction after his visit," al-Sulaiti said.
Mowasalat is ready to assist Eritrea to augment its public transport
system if requested, the official said.
"We can provide complete transportation solutions and not just
services," al-Sulaiti maintained.Eritrean expatriates working for
Mowasalat had lined up to greet their President. A member of Afwerki's
delegation revealed that about 350 Eritrean drivers are working in
Qatar, including Mowasalat's 120.
"If we used to cater to just 1,500 people a month in buses when we
started our public transportation service, now the number has reached
2mn passengers a month," the official said.
The number of passengers using Mowasalat's Karwa taxis has touched 1mn a
month.
"Complaints about the taxi service have come down to 5% from 55% in the
wake of the recent introduction of a new communication system,"
al-Sulaiti claimed.
New contracts for more taxis are to be signed in the coming weeks. Local
distributors of three car brands have been shortlisted.
Mowasalat business development director Ahmed al-Ansari, deputy general
manager and finance director Waleed Raslan Alabdulla and other senior
officials were present on the occasion.
New display
Mowasalat is to install real-time digital display boards on a trial
basis at the bus stops on Salwa Road.
"We have given the contract for the installation," Mowasalat chairman
and managing director Jassim Saif Ahmed al-Sulaiti said.
The bus stops presently have a printed display board announcing the
schedule.
"The new display boards will show minute-by-minute updates of
approaching buses," he explained.
The high-technology system relies on optical fibres for connectivity.
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