Demonstrating his commitment to the investment drive, the minister spent the next four days shuttling between signing ceremonies. At the end of the Doha Gas Conference on 3 March, agreements had been signed with international partners for a further $15,000 million worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas-to-liquids (GTL) and petrochemicals capacity.

These days, Qatar's ambitions extend far beyond the gas sector, where it is well on track to becoming the world's largest LNG and GTL producer by 2010. It has drawn up a $7,000 million, five-year public works programme, involving a radical overhaul of the state's ageing infrastructure. It is pitching to become a regional financial hub, following the unveiling of the Qatar Financial Centre project in mid-January. In Education City, it is striving to create a centre of educational excellence, in the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) to make its mark on the international aviation industry. And through a political reform programme, which will see Qatar's first parliamentary elections over the next 12 months, it is intent on creating an open and democratic society.

With such a full and diverse agenda, Doha is a place in a hurry. Having spent most of the 1980s in a virtual state of inertia and the 1990s grappling with the huge financial burden of establishing a gas export industry, it is looking to make up for lost time. After four years of rising energy production and resurgent oil prices, it now has the money to do it. And in the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, it has a committed advocate for change.

Nevertheless, major challenges lie ahead for Qatar as it sets about fulfilling its extensive list of goals. One fundamental issue is that large parts of the Doha system are struggling to meet the demands of an economy that is growing regularly by 20 per cent a year, a capital investment programme forecast at $15,000 million-20,000 million a year over the next five years and a population that is expanding by 5-6 per cent a year. 'The system could cope 10 years ago, but now it is under severe pressure,' says one senior banker. 'It is not only the public sector, but also the private sector, which is finding it hard to come to terms with the fact there is 10 times more going on now than there was a decade ago. The problem is that people are not used to this.'

The strains on the system and resources are evident across the board. Company executives and government officials complain of the inordinate amount of time it takes to obtain visas and the difficulties in finding well-qualified staff. For contractors, the shortage of construction materials, particularly cement, continues to be a major headache, as are the lengthy delays in awarding contracts on non-gas projects. The lack of accommodation has fuelled sharp rent rises, much to the consternation of residents.

Market forces will remove some of the supply constraints over the coming 12-18 months, and both the accommodation and cement situations are set to improve once new capacity comes on line. In other areas, the government recognises that more immediate action is needed to address the bottlenecks, particularly in the area of project execution. 'We realise that Qatar does not yet offer the best infrastructure available,' Economy & Commerce Minster Sheikh Mohamed al-Thani said in mid-January. 'But we are very keen to encourage government institutions, the private sector and business to change that.'

Bureaucracy

In its drive to c