According to information obtained by Al-Akhbar, the caretaker government is looking into getting Qatari support for the transport sector.
According to some sources, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati brought up the issue with Qatari officials on the sidelines of his participation in the opening of the World Cup in Doha, saying that "the atmosphere is positive." Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh also discussed this matter with Qatar's Minister of Transport, Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti.
The idea was inspired by Doha's desire to demolish some World Cup-related infrastructures in cooperation with the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to make space available to some developing countries, especially those suffering from difficult economic conditions.
The donations will include whole football stadiums, thousands of seats that will be torn down from other stadiums, and equipment, which is reported to include big buses. The Qatari government purchased roughly 3,000 buses, in addition to the 1,000 buses it already has, which were used for free transport for fans during the event.
According to some sources, the Qataris offered to provide seats suitable for maintaining the sports city in Beirut and some municipal stadiums. However, the Lebanese side raised the possibility of supplying Lebanon with several buses to address the transportation crisis in the country.
Al-Akhbar also learned that Mikati discussed this with Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who manages the external investment fund for Qatar, in addition to the file of political relations with some countries, including Lebanon. He also plays a role at this stage in the file of the presidential elections in Lebanon, as he is in charge of communicating with various Lebanese leaders.
Mikati also sought the help of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is married to Lebanese Lina Ashkar and has been living in Qatar for more than two years. He also aspires to learn Arabic and maintains strong relations with the Qatari leadership and with official figures of many other nations.
Infantino has expressed his willingness to help in this file should Qatar want to donate part of these buses. However, an Arab diplomat quoted the Qatari Transport Minister saying that his country plans to invest in all buses within a new transport plan that considers the development of the number of residents in Qatar over the years.
But the essential thing in the file is that Lebanon faces two significant problems linked to the fuel supply to run these buses and their ongoing maintenance, rather than just a shortage of buses.
Therefore, Hamieh suggested that the government authorize the Public Works Ministry to contract with the private sector to undertake the operation and maintenance of buses that currently exist or can be obtained.
Accordingly, sources in contact with the Qatari side indicated that it might be proposed to Doha to establish a private Qatari company or to be in partnership with Lebanese, to contract with it to operate these buses, supervise their management and develop maintenance centers for them. The Lebanese government will still have the control and planning authority, which receives part of the company's revenues.
Mikati asked Qatari officials to provide Lebanon with World Cup buses
Although the laws allow for such a step, the matter may need to be settled with private companies that own red plates used by workers in the private transport sector.
Hamieh told Al-Akhbar that his ministry is ready to facilitate all the requirements of this step if there is a severe opportunity. He has also asked the directly concerned authorities to set a book of conditions for any contracting project with the private sector.
He also tried to obtain a law authorizing his ministry to contract with private companies without needing the red plates. Still, the matter stopped after trade unionists raised the adverse effects on the owners and operators of the ones who own red plates. Thus, there are 33,000 plates in Lebanon for small taxis and 6,400 plates for buses with less than 12 passengers.
Additionally, most companies working on large bus lines or vans have stopped working, as well as many taxi drivers, due to the high fuel and maintenance costs.
It is noteworthy that about 25 years ago, the private sector succeeded in disrupting public transportation and obtaining the rights to operate its vehicles on all public transport lines under the influence of deals between the government and private interests. However, these companies fled the market after the 2019 collapse and sought compensation.
4000 buses for the World Cup
After announcing its hosting of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar prepared a unique program to transform the transportation sector into an integrated network. It included a group of projects, including the Doha Metro, the largest mass transit project in cities in the Middle East. It extends along 75 km with 37 stations, three lines (red, gold, and green), about 18,000 taxis, and more than 3,000 electric bicycles.
A large number of buses (run by the Karwa Transportation Company) transported the fans who attended the World Cup matches, using three types of buses: "Karwa 41" (with a capacity of 41 passengers), "Karwa 23" (with a total of 23 passengers and classified as VIP), and «Karwa 39» (39 passengers).
Chinese companies "Yutong" and "HIGER" manufactured these buses. Moreover, Karwa Transportation Company signed a contract with "Yutong" to purchase 741 electric buses and 261 diesel buses and another contract with "HIGER" to purchase 1815 diesel buses.
Director of public relations at the Qatari company Khaled Kafood announced the use of about 4,000 buses during the World Cup, of which 850 operate on electricity only, and 1,600 buses use the hybrid engine, which runs on diesel and electricity.