Qatar's $65bn non-energy mega projects start to emerge

Delegates to the MEED conference on non-energy projects in Doha this week heard a series of vibrant presentations outlining progress to date and plans for the future.

In the keynote address Minister of Finance Yousef Hussain Kamal pointed out that almost half the $130 billion earmarked for investment over the next six years will be in the non-energy sectors.

The land reclamation for the $5.5 billion new airport is finished and the runways are clearly seen from the air. This airport occupies a site one quarter of the size of the whole of metropolitan Doha, and when fully developed will be able to handle 50 million passengers a year, a similar number to Frankfurt or Paris' Charles de Gualle. It will open in 2009 and has the second longest runway in the world to handle A380 super jumbos with ease.

At the same time the $10 billion Pearl-Qatar offshore island, also adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is now complete, and construction work is in progress, albeit apartment handovers are running over a year behind schedule. This finely detailed, 400-hectare island is now expected to be finished by 2010 and will be a home to 40,000 residents in a Monaco-style environment.

QFC sold-out

Non-energy business and finance projects are also moving forward. Qatar Financial Centre CEO & Director General, Stuart Pearce told the MEED conference that 33 licenses have now been issued with a target of 70 set for mid-year.

The QFC's bright stainless steel building will be occupied by the end of April and such is the level of demand that the QFC has already had to lease 20 floors on a second building expected to be full by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the Qatar Education City now has 800 students on five campuses and rapidly expanding, while the impressive Qatar Science & Technology Park is under construction using more steel in its building than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Lusail Waterfront next

Returning to the $20 billion Lusail township on 35 square kilometers of land north of the Ritz Carlton, the conference was informed that the Lusail Waterfront comprising 46 plots including 39 residential towers of up to 24 storeys would be the next part of this massive project to go ahead.

The obvious comparison to be drawn is with Dubai's Jumeirah Beach Residence and the Dubai Marina. Non-GCC nationals will be able to buy on 99-year leases, a contrast with the 100 per cent freehold available on The Pearl-Qatar.

It is hardly surprising that Doha is now looking at light railway and metro options for its new urban landscape, as officials revealed at the MEED event.

They are working on very conservative population projections of a 1.2 to 1.3 million Qatar population within 10-15 years compared with 950,000 today, while some commentators think two million is more realistic.