New college to open in Qatar

Qatar will establish the first regional training college for firefighters. The government has approved a plan to set up the college in the country.

According to a release issued by Qatar Petroleum (QP), the institute will be a joint venture between QP, Texas A&M University and Qatar Foundation.

QP plans to begin construction in early 2006 and the facility is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2007.

A preliminary environmental impact assessment was conducted at Ras Laffan Industrial City, which has been chosen as the location for the facility.

When the college becomes fully functional, the aim will be to standardise the equipment for emergency response teams as well as establish emergency response training programmes utilising internationally-accepted standards.

Texas A&M University will accredit and oversee all training programmes ensuring that they meet international standards catering to the industrial and municipal fire services training needs within Qatar and eventually within the GCC.