Qatar may privatize all gardening and landscaping services for public green spaces, a senior official said on Sunday.
As a prelude, the public gardens section at the Doha Municipality has given the work of mowing grass at the Muntazah Women's and Family parks to a private contractor, the official told the Gulf Times.
The seven-month contract is starting from next month on a trial basis, he said. "We will see how it works as well as the difference."
A similar contract for cutting grass on the Corniche will also be awarded soon, he added.
Eventually, the idea is to hand over the entire work of planting, irrigating, cutting and maintaining all the gardens and other public areas to private agencies.
"I will soon be presenting a proposal on this to the higher authorities," said the official, who noted that other Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also experimenting with privatization.
He said that the latest trend in all spheres was privatization.
The municipality hopes to save a lot of money in the long term, he said, adding that "we will be encouraging local companies to undertake new endeavors.” – Albawaba.com
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