Barwa Hassad launches Arakiya Farm

This was in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Environment and Natural Reserves, Mr. Abdullah Bin Mubarak Al-Maadeed, and Mr. Ghanim Bin Saad Al-Saad, Chairman of Barwa Real Estate, Dr. Mohamed Khalifa Al-Kuwari Executive Director, Hassad Barwa Co., and VIP figures and officials of Barwa Real Estate and Qatari Diar.

Since its foundation, Barwa is keen to put forward initiatives and innovative solutions to address the challenges presented by the current stage and economic boom taking place in Qatar now. According to this, Hassad Barwa project was a genuine expression of the deeply rooted Barwa investment strategy and its vision and pride in belonging to this homeland. Arakiya Farm project addresses one of the major challenges currently on the table, namely, the challenge resulting from the increase in the numbers of the population. The number of Qatar's population has increased from 369,079 according to 1986 census to 1541130 people according to 2008 census. This urban development has resulted in the consumption of large quantities of water that in turn has transformed into sewage water that is treated through a modern treatment plants. The problem is in how to safely dispose the treated water without causing any adverse effects or causing any environmental damage. There is no doubt that this equation is extremely difficult.

Ghanim Bin Saad Al-Saad stated:

"We Believe in the concept of sustainable development and strive hard to achieve it. Hassad Barwa Company seeks from these projects the application of the concept of sustainable development through finding innovative lasting solutions to the treated sewage water that makes use of it while securing environment safety, as well as economic investment in agriculture to achieve food security for the present and future of Qatar."

Setting up of the first integrated project that aims to apply the principle of sustainable development gives the project the advantage to achieve several targets at the same time through using treated sewage water in achieving self-sufficiency of green fodder which in turn will encourage and develop the country's animal wealth. This is mainly achieved through the provision of green fodders at competitive prices. Furthermore, the project will help in maintaining the groundwater by increasing the consumption of treated water, improving the quality of soil in the project areas, stopping the process of desertification and improving the local climate by increasing the cultivated area. The project has further environmental impact and sequences cannot be condoned. In addition to safe and sustainable disposal of sewage, the project will help preserve the wildlife in the desert surrounding areas. From this standpoint, the project, in its early stages, has become a safe haven for many species of desert and wildlife animals, plants and birds deployed in the project areas.

"The Arakiya Farm project under the management of Hassad Barwa company does not stand for all the ambitious objectives of the parent company, Barwa Real Estate, but it is only the beginning of what Barwa hopes to achieve in the field of green fodders' self-sufficiency on the short term, while it aims to achieve food security in the long term," said Mr. Fahid Al-Kuwari, Director of Operations, Barwa Real Estate.

Hassad Barwa Project, which became a reality after it was just an idea, includes construction of an integrated farm with an area of 14 million square meters. The project had the necessary success factors required for any agricultural development project. Since the climate of Qatar is a desert climate, Qatar suffers from scarcity of water resources due to having hot dry climate in summer and little rain in winter. The rainfall average during the rainy season ranges between 60-70 mm. Many times there is no rain fall in the season of rain, which affects the water level on the flow of fresh groundwater.

On the other hand, the sewerage network has evolved and developed the potentials of effective water treatment methods, one of which is the tripartite way. The Public Works Authority has also increased the capacity of treatment plants, such as Southern Doha Plant (Alneeja) and Western Doha Plant (Saileya), to reach more than 120 thousand cubic meters per day. The problem was not in sewage treatment, but it was in disposal of treated sewage water which started to represent a serious hazard after being treated as it was collected in Abu Nakhla Lake and reached the estimated amount between 25 to 30 million cubic meters, which could cause an environmental disaster if any default happens.

That's why it is not possible to rely neither on the climate in the provision of water nor on the nature of the land in provision of large sectors of cultivated lands or even on the groundwater decreasing due to scarce rainfall conditions, which steadily causes a high rate of salinity.

The nature of climate affected the already poor soil, except rare areas, as in gardens and small oases, not exceeding 2.4% of the total area of Qatar. The status and nature of the soil could be improved through washing it by treated water.

"Hassad Barwa primarily aimed at achieving sustainable development through the preservation of the reuse of water used in urban parks by its re-treatment and reuse once more, instead of leaving it as crude, which will lead to the pollution of soil or underground water or sea water as well as to the abolishment of wildlife. The project also aims to preserve the soil by halting the process of desertification, thus maintaining the ecological balance. The project will also work to stop the depletion of underground water through using the treated water for irrigating fodders, as well as using the groundwater in other crops for human consumption and preserving the environment and next generations' rights of using such sources," Commented Dr. Fahid Al-Kuwari, Operations Projects Manager, Barwa Real Estate, on the project and its objectives.


Thus, the treated water represents the solution. Studies have showed that by 2011, the volume of treated water in Qatar will exceed 550 thousand cubic meters per day from the country's different treatment plants. There is no doubt that the use of this water for agricultural purposes achieves more than one target at the same time: Safe disposal, improvement of soil quality and achievement of sustainable agricultural development. Treated water, which is already suitable for this purpose and is used to achieve it, will be used in the cultivation of fodders, washing of soil and irrigation of green spaces.

The results of these studies and researches were raised to senior management of Barwa Real Estate, especially to the Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Ghanim Bin Saad Al-Saad, Barwa Real Estate, for discussion, then, establishment of Hassad Barwa Company was approved on 7.7.2007 to be the first step on the road to achieving the dream. Hassad Barwa Company represents a quantum leap in terms of the company's activity and its long-term strategic perspective to accomplish food security in the State of Qatar in the present and future. The construction process started swiftly on Hassad Barwa's land at Arakiya area in April 2008, starting with it the process of achieving the objectives of Hassad Barwa.

Dream became a reality on the ground of Arakiya area, and it quickly turned into "Arakiya Farm" when the first phase of the project started. The beginning was the fencing of the project, followed by the installation of six Linear Irrigation Move Systems of the first phase, used to irrigate by spraying a total area of 1.8 million square meters per day consuming 16 cubic meters of treated water. The farm was equipped to the latest technical specifications necessary for the success of the project such as isolated reservoirs, automatic pumps and modern irrigation systems. This reflects the vision of Barwa in employing the latest technologies while preserving the components of the local environment. Furthermore, the farm has been equipped by all the required infrastructure such as warehouses, workshops, equipments and machinery of various and modern types. In parallel with this, electricity generators operating on diesel were also installed, as a temporary solution to supply the project with energy. Meanwhile, the company will be working hard to find and study other alternatives in this regard, including the use of solar energy.

The second phase expands by installing 5 additional medium-sized Linear Irrigation Move Systems spraying an area of 66 hectares per, resulting in a total area of 3.3 Million square meters. The capacity of the ground reservoir will be 80 thousand cubic meters, which means that the quantity of ground water in the reservoir will reach 100 thousand cubic meters of water, while the total cultivated area will reach more than 5 million square meters and consume approximately 50 thousand cubic meters of treated water per day.

The project, through the production of green fodders, will contribute in increasing numbers of sheep. The fodder market is currently suffering from rise in the volume of demand over supply which in turn led to higher prices of fodders, especially Barsim prices, which reached 90 per 20 kilograms, and RODES prices, which range between 33 to 40 for the same weight. The first phase of the project will provide the market of what will partially fill the shortage of fodder, and this will lead to lower prices through offering the fodders at competitive prices. It is expected that the total production of the two phases will exceed 23,000 tons per year.

12th Gulf Engineering Forum awarded Hassad Barwa the Excellence & Creativity Award:

Surely all the above stated information is the reason 12th Gulf Engineering Forum held in Qatar under the slogan "Gulf engineers and Challenges of Sustainable Development", granted Hassad Barwa Project the award of Excellence & Creativity Award. The project in all its sides didn't only take into consideration the use of renewable environmental resources, but also the preservation and safety of the environment, that's why the project is eco-friendly.

Perhaps the most honest Barwa spokesman is the size and volume of development projects being implemented on behalf of Barwa inside and outside Qatar. Some of the projects inside Qatar are: Barwa Baraha, Barwa Doha, Barwa City, Barwa Commercial Avenue, Barwa Al Khor, and Barwa Financial District. Other international projects are spread in different regions and areas worldwide. The investment strategy of Barwa is very clear and diversified, some of them are: Somerset Alfateh project (Bahrain), Somerset Corniche Project (Doha), Ajman Towers (UAE), New Cairo (Egypt), the Four Hotels in Paris (France) and Istanbul Sea Gate (Turkey).