Qatar Special Report

Now that the investment in energy projects has been completed it will have to adjust to moderate growth of 6 per cent a year. High hydrocarbon prices will help to sustain this, but the non-oil sector now has a much more important role to play in driving the economy forward and creating jobs. The special report will include a feature on Qatar’s economy.

The Msheireb development is a major urban regeneration project under way in Doha. Located behind the Emiri Diwan administrative centre on Doha corniche, the scheme aims to revitalise a 750,000 square metre area of the capital. The project, which is being under taken by the Qatar Foundation, includes construction of commercial and mixed-use buildings, government buildings and a heritage quarter, residential areas and an interchange station for Doha’s proposed metro system. A feature will focus on the Msheireb project, which is creating major opportunities for construction firms in Qatar.

Qatar has outlined more than $60bn-worth of transport and infrastructure projects to be built over the next decade as it prepares to host the football World Cup in 2022. The planned schemes include the construction of roads, the Doha metro, Lusail light railway, people-movers, a freight and high-speed passenger line, as well as hotels and stadiums. These will require thousands of tonnes of imported materials and specialist equipment. The special report will look at the logistics of building so many projects at once.

In July 2007, Qatar announced plans to merge the regulatory functions of the Central Bank, the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. There has been little progress since then, as the country focused its attention on dealing with the impact of the global financial crisis. But now that stability has returned the idea of a single regulator is back on the agenda.

As Qatar develops its non-oil sector and looks to implement the infrastructure needed to support a modern economy, the country has become one of the fastest growing IT markets in the world. A feature will analyse Qatar’s IT spending and the priority areas for investment.

Following the completion of its two-decade long energy investment programme, Qatar replaced Abdullahal-Attiyah as oil minister in January 2011. After one year in the role, the special report will look at Mohammed Saleh al-Sada’s strategies and priorities.