Doha Municipality has launched the first phase of a new free mobile phone charging service for the public.
The initiative is being carried out with the support of the firm, PR Launchers, and will cover different areas.
To begin with, a number of solar-powered charging devices have been installed along the Doha Corniche. The devices can be used to charge mobile phones as well as other handheld gadgets such as tablets, according to a statement from the Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning (MMUP).
The inauguration of the new service was attended by Mohamed Ahmed al-Sayyed, director of Doha Municipality; Abdullah Fakhro, project manager; Amjad Baker, CEO of PR Launchers; Mohamed Hassan al-Muhannadi, general manager of the company; and Ahmed Ibrahim, customer relations manager,
The first phase of the project, according to al-Sayyed, involves the installation of 30 such charging devices. Some of these have already been put up along the Corniche and the others will be installed in different places over the coming days.
Over 200 charging devices are to be installed in public places such as parks, gardens, social and recreational activity centres and markets in different municipalities as part of the entire project, he said.
The initiative fell within the framework of the MMUP’s eagerness to provide services that would facilitate communication with the municipality from any public place, he noted, adding that the installation of solar-powered chargers was in line with the ministry’s efforts to preserve the environment.
Fakhro, meanwhile, explained that the solar-powered devices are capable of charging all modern mobile phones, tablets, iPads and digital cameras. He also stressed that the devices can help save time as they charge gadgets faster, by about 30-40%, than ordinary chargers.
The next phase of the project will see the installation of charging devices in indoor spaces such as government premises, he added.