The completion of the first phase of its electric vehicle (EV) charging stations was announced by Doha Festival City, in partnership with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), represented in the National Program for Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed). The project, undertaken under the mall’s sustainability efforts and Tarsheed’s guidance and regulations, has seen the completion of 23 stations, which are now all operational.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Eng Rashid Al Rahimi, Manager of Conservation and Energy Efficiency Department from Kahramaa, and Jihad Zarkout, Assistant General Manager of BASREC, owner and operator of DFC mall, and Robert Hall, Doha Festival City’s General Manager, along with a number of managers and personnel.
The EV charging stations are now available for public use and can be found in 46 locations across the mall in the Lower Ground Floor, near Monoprix and Sacoor Brothers and on the first floor near the VIP valet area, Harvey Nichols, and VOX. This step came in the context of the joint action Kahramaa, represented by Tarsheed, is leading in cooperation with different entities in Qatar to achieve environmental sustainability, and it is in line with Doha Festival City’s long commitment to promoting the use of clean energy and reducing the carbon footprint from visitor’s vehicles. The mall has further planned to install more charging stations in two phases in the coming two years to promote energy efficiency.
Eng Mohammed Al Sharshani, head of EV Charging Stations Unit, said that Kahramaa, represented by Tarsheed, was keen on cooperating with all local stakeholders, both in the governmental and private sectors.
The Unity50 charging stations can charge electric vehicles with a power output of up to 50 kW and reduce charging times to less than 30 minutes.
The stations are managed by the efficient “ChargeSphere – powered by Kostad” web-based control and management system to ensure cross connectivity and visibility.
All stations will be monitored by Tarsheed Platform that connects all EV charging stations in the State of Qatar for a better user experience in 2023.
