Qatar is undertaking a study for the first public-private partnership (PPP) project in the country’s hospitality sector.

Under the proposed scheme, the government will allocate land for the project, which will be leased to the developer who will then source funding from banks for the construction of the hotel.

Sources familar with the scheme said the government has already allocated land for the project.

Once the preliminary study is completed, an invitation for expression of interest (EoI) is expected to be released. The response to the EoI will provide an indication of the appetite of local and regional developers and investors in such project.

In October 2015, Qatar Rail invited firms to bid for the design and consultancy services for its planned mixed-use, transit-oriented development (TOD) real-estate projects in Doha.

It is understood that these proposed projects could utilise a PPP model although little is known in terms of their progress.

Qatar expects to approve a new law governing the use of PPP in early 2017, according to a local media report citing Tim Armsby, a partner with UK law firm Eversheds.

Eversheds, along with PwC, also of the UK, were appointed in May 2016 as advisers for the development of a PPP framework including a new law in Qatar.

The draft PPP law awaiting final approval is expected to be general rather than prescriptive, MEED was told in May 2016. The law was originally expected to be approved before end of 2016.

Kuwait and Dubai already have a PPP law in place; these are considered horizontal PPP laws, since they can apply on all industries or sectors. Prior to this, the PPP laws across the GCC focus exclusively on the utility sector.