DOHA: The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) yesterday unveiled the final master plan of the New Doha Zoo project that seeks to develop the facility in the model of a safari park, with dedicated areas for animals from different continents.
The area of the New Doha Zoo will be 75 hectares, seven times the size of the current zoo, and will be divided into several regions that will represent the natural and climatic features of three continents.
There will be an “Africa Safari,” with forests and savannas; an “Asia Woodland,” which is characterised by charm natural features and mountains; and a “South America rainforest,” with dense and rainy forests.
“And there will be rainy parts in this region to enrich the visitors’ experience who will feel that they are truly walking in one of the dense tropical forests of South America”, Ashghal President Nasser bin Ali Al Mawlawi said yesterday, while unveiling the final concept plan.
Ashghal has appointed KEO International Consultants as the project’s Design and Construction Supervision Consultant in cooperation with HHCP+PJA with a QR230m contract. Work on the project would begin next year and the new zoo is expected to be open to the public by the end of 2017.
Al Mawlawi signed the contract along with KEO International Consultants CEO Donna Sultan.
Upon completion, Al Mawlawi said, the New Doha Zoo will be one of the biggest and most beautiful zoos in the region.
The zoo will be interweaved with a public park with no fences that obstruct the vision; and therefore, will not affect the landscape of the surrounding streets, but will add an aesthetical dimension and green spaces to them. A bridge will connect the zoo with the Aspire Park on the opposite side.
Each region of the zoo can be discovered through multiple safari trips that will take the visitors on memorable journeys across the zoo and its vast green landscapes to watch the wildlife species of each of the three continents. There will be car trips, trekking on foot through safe passages, trips by boats and Children’s Safari that commensurate with their age and maintain their safety.
More than 12,500 trees will be planted, some are local and others are brought from different geographical areas, in addition to the current 1,000 trees in the zoo.
The zoo will have a training centre for animal care, and allow researchers and practitioners to have a first-hand experience in this field and introduce students and teachers to the wildlife and different fauna and flora of each of the three continents of the zoo.
The zoo will host a two-storey Discovery Centre that includes small animal exhibits, gallery spaces for interpretive exhibits, and spaces to offer a variety of education programmes.
The Discovery Centre’s small animal enclosures and dazzling visual media exhibits will interpret Qatar’s wildlife and cultural heritage, national wildlife research and conservation initiatives, and Doha Zoo’s involvement in conservation programmes and partnerships.
The zoo will provide entertainment through 3D and 4D interactive theatres, in addition to a “live” digital host animal that interact with the audience, then takes visitors on several animal-centred adventures to explore the amazing world of nature.
All animals of the current zoo will be moved to shelters in Rawdat Al Faras farm, where they will be surrounded by specialised experts who offer them advanced medical care, until the completion of the Doha Zoo’s development project.
The zoo will take into account the requirements of people with special needs, Al Mawlawi said, noting that Qatari companies will participate in later stages of the project.
He said the current location was chosen because it is stuck in people’s minds. He added that it was taken into consideration that the new zoo is near to Aspire Park, noting that a bridge will connect the two parks.
Ashghal started working on the New Doha Zoo in July last year, when a design competition was announced to come up with the primary architectural concept and general master plan for the project.
After going through its careful procedures, Ashghal’s steering committee chose the appropriate concept, and in December 2012 it appointed international consultant HHCP+PJA to develop a concept master plan for the project.
The Peninsula
