The Ministry of Municipality and Environment's (MME) Livestock Department is carrying out a QR95mn project to develop veterinary quarantine facilities near Hamad Port and Al Ruwais Port according to the latest international standards.
The technical staff are also to be imparted advanced training. The project is expected to be accomplished by the last quarter of this year. A national specialised company is implementing the project under the full supervision of the specialists at the Public Works Authority.
 
Officials visiting the site of a veterinary quarantine facility
 
Work in progress at a veterinary quarantine facility


Architect's impression of a building at one of the veterinary quarantine facilities
 
The new quarantines include administrative buildings, laboratories, veterinary clinics to examine imported livestock, in additional to slaughterhouses and incineration facilities. The quarantine near Al Rwais Port is to have six barns across 16,000sq m with a capacity of 16,000 heads of sheep and goats or 1,600 camels or 2,600 cows. It includes an incineration facility that can operate with a capacity of 650kg/hour, in addition to a semi-automated slaughterhouse with three production lines and a production capacity of 250 heads of sheep and goats, 50 camels, and 50 cows in a single shift.
The quarantine facility near Hamad Port stretches across 90,000sq m with 20 barns wide enough for 40,000 heads of goats and sheep, 2,000 camels or 4,000 cows, in addition to an incineration facility with a capacity of 650kg/hour and an automated slaughterhouse of three production lines with a capacity of 600 heads of sheep and goats, 100 camels and 100 cows in a single shift.
The opening of these animal quarantines will allow diversity of imported red meat sourced from the different countries without undermining the local livestock production.
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