Qatar is laying the foundations for building a prosperous future brick by brick as the construction industry surges ahead showing the most impressive growth across all the Gulf States.
Although the nation may lose the right to host the FIFA 2022 World Cup, construction in Qatar is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of just over 10% for the next 10 years.
Sometimes Dona, the capital, seems to resemble a huge building site as the government invests billions in infrastructure projects.
The prestige of hosting the World Cup may boost some of these projects, but a recent survey by BMI Research suggests the shame of losing the tournament would have little effect on the burgeoning sector.
The first quarter of 2015 showed a slowdown to 11.4% growth from last year’s explosive 18%, according to the research.
Metro on track
The main reason for the change is the government kicked off a number of new infrastructure projects last year.
This year, the firm has forecast annual growth of 13% as the government pours more money into construction.
As they government has already scheduled spending on several major projects, whether the World Cup does go ahead in Qatar means some may be tuned down a little, but most of the construction will carry on as planned.
Work is proceeding on trying to cut traffic congestion and pollution with the Doha metro network.
BMI says the project will stay on track with or without the World Cup although losing the competition rights may see fewer stations.
Key projects
Extensive work on extending and updating the port at Doha is also underway and is regarded as necessary spending to allow Qatar to compete with other ports in the region.
Other key projects include upgrading capacity to output energy and the production of more fresh water.
“Qatar is an exciting place with big plans to take on a larger role not only within the Gulf, but on a wider stage,” said James Green, regional manager in Doha for deVere Group, one of the world’s leading independent wealth and financial services advisers.
“The government wants to move away from reliance on oil and gas, so is laying down a foundation for expanding other industries to create jobs and wealth. The first step is improving the infrastructure, hence the surge in growth in the sector.”
