International contractors looking to work in Qatar should team up with local partners, according to Mashreq Qatar bank’s head of contracting.

Addressing the subject of risk during a panel debate at the MEED Qatar Projects conference in Doha on 10 March, Mustapha Guettouchi told delegates that although the market is liquid, there can be a “communications risk”.

Overseas companies can help smooth this path, easing access to financing, licensing and other vital projects paperwork.

Calling the local contracting market “a small club,” fellow panellist Craig Cowie, head of real estate investment and advisory at Qatar Invest, said: “Partner up, or the road is a difficult one, for obvious reasons.”

Cowie added that he sees no “massively stalled” projects, and there is a lot of work to be had. The market is liquid, and problems stem “not from capacity issues, but more funding issues”, he said.

Guettouchi backed Cowie, saying “liquidity is not an issue. Now is the time to begin looking at new ways of financing projects.”