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As the new 2025/2026 academic year approaches, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the completion of all school zone safety measures around 669 schools across Qatar and development of 53 existing schools, including upgrading fire protection systems. Such plans, Ashghal said in a statement, aim at protecting students and ensuring the safety of road users during school drop-off and pick-up times, along with ensuring the highest standards of safety and security towards enhancing the efficiency of educational facilities.This is done in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Ashghal also plans to improve 140 schools within a comprehensive plan that includes developing fire protection systems, enhancing educational, recreational, and sports facilities to help provide a safe educational environment that supports the learning process. The plan also covers the reconstruction of seven existing schools to meet the latest global standards and specifications in design and equipment. Project Engineer Dana Saeed Al-Saiari from the Building Projects Department explained that the Ashghal, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, has carried out a wide range of development and improvement works in 53 existing schools. These included upgrading fire protection systems in line with the highest international standards, as well as introducing advanced technical and operational enhancements that improve the efficiency of the buildings and the overall quality of the learning environment. On the other side, Eng. Abdullah Al Maraghi, Road Safety Engineer, said that the school zone safety strategies cover the road networks surrounding 673 schools in various areas, as part of the School Zone Safety Programme, since the start of the programme in 2013 until now, which is being implemented in coordination with all relevant authorities. In this context, Ashghal has also undertaken comprehensive preparations over the past months to enhance road infrastructure and implement safety measures to facilitate traffic flow. These technical and essential improvements represent an important step towards providing a safe and sustainable school environment for all community members in the new academic year. The improvements include the installation or upgrading of clear and prominent traffic signs, as well as the inspection, maintenance and installation of speed bumps and pedestrian crossings to alert drivers to slow down at school entrances and exits. These enhanced measures aim to improve pedestrian visibility in areas surrounding schools, while enforcing the minimum speed limit of 30 km/h. In addition, further road safety measures have been adopted to regulate traffic flow during peak times at school entrances during drop-off and pick-up hours. Moreover, road markings, such as pedestrian crossings and stop lines, are being repainted to ensure maximum clarity for road users. In addition to expanding and repaving sidewalks adjacent to schools to provide safer pedestrian pathways capable of accommodating larger numbers.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) recently carried out more than 20,000 checks to assess the state and performance of grease traps, across the north, west and south zones. “The purpose of the inspections was to assess the state and performance of grease traps, which are essential for keeping fats, oils, and grease (FOG) out of drainage systems,” said engineer Thani al-Khulaifi, head of Emergency and Customer Service Section in Drainage Networks Operation and Maintenance Department at Ashghal. These inspections help in the early detection of signs of flooding and blockages that may affect the sewage networks and protect the infrastructure while reducing network damage and avoiding unexpected service interruptions. Ashghal said it has observed that certain establishments such as restaurants and public kitchens are still failing to adhere to regulations regarding the installation, cleaning and maintenance of grease traps. Additionally some of these restaurants are intentionally discharging oil and grease into the drainage network managed by Ashghal resulting in severe damage to the network. “Therefore, all restaurants and public kitchens must act responsibly and refrain from disposing of oils and grease into the drainage network and deposit them at designated collection points,” Ashghal said. It added that installing grease traps in their kitchens is mandatory along with routine cleaning and any violation of the aforementioned will result in legal action being taken against the violators in accordance with the Penal Code No.11 of 2017 and the Law No. 18 of 2017 on the Public Hygiene and any other relevant laws. Ashghal has so far reminded restaurant owners of the need to commit to the installation and maintenance of grease traps. This is in order to preserve the drainage network and ensure its sustainability. Ashghal has published an advisory that includes a set of guidelines to restaurants and houses. The advisory asks restaurant owners to prevent sewer blockages and flooding by disposing Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) properly. “Don’t pour FOG down the sink. Ensure you have a grease trap installed in your kitchen. Ensure your grease trap is properly maintained and cleaned regularly. Dispose FOG via tankers permitted by Ashghal and ensure your staff know how to correctly dispose of FOG,” the advisory says.