Mowasalat eyes Eritrea tie-up

By Bonnie James
Deputy News Editor

Eritrean President Afwerki being taken on a tour of the Karwa City by Mowasalat CMD al-Sulaiti yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram Qatar’s public transport company Mowasalat is eyeing a major tie-up with the Eritrean government with a view to providing complete transport solutions.

alt “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.