VOLVO MACHINES HELP TO BUILD A SMART CITY IN THE DESERT

From ice cold glaciers in Northern Sweden, to the sweltering deserts of Qatar, Volvo Construction Equipment takes on a very different challenge in the second episode of its brand campaign, ‘Building Tomorrow’, by profiling its machines helping to build the sustainable city of Lusail, Qatar.

The second episode takes Volvo CE to the north of Doha, Qatar, where the new sustainable Lusail City is being built. In temperatures reaching up to 50ºC, over 240 Volvo machines have been hard at work – enduring 24-hour days, based on a three-shift cycle – building a town designed to support 250,000 residents. 

Part of Qatar’s ‘Vision 2030’– which aims to transform the Middle Eastern state into a society capable of achieving sustainable development by 2030 – Lusail City represents an ambitious vision for the future of Qatar. 

Turning this vision into a reality, Lusail is being fitted with a district cooling system, featuring 175km of piping – making it one of the world’s largest central cooling systems. This will save an estimated 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, limiting the harmful effects on the ozone layer. Moreover, a 24km waste pipe is being laid underneath the city, as an advanced and efficient way of disposing of human waste to recycling and treatment plants outside of the city.

To encourage residents to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, a light railway, water-taxi system and underground pedestrian tunnels are also being constructed, promoting alternative means of travel. 

Lusail has been under construction since 2009, and more than 45,000 workers are on site each day. A number of Volvo CE excavators, articulated haulers, wheel loaders and soil compactors are on site daily, clearing room for foundations and underground tunnels.