Qatar to tender $31bn of projects this year

05 July 2015

Doha Bank says the construction sector will see double-digit growth

  • Project market expected to stay robust
  • Qatar has already seen $16.4bn in projects awarded in 2015
  • 13.3 per cent slump in gross domestic product per capita expected

Qatar is set to see $31bn in projects tendered this year, according to Doha Bank CEO Rahavan Seetharaman.

Speaking at a conference in India on 3 July, he said that major project activity was expected to be seen the construction and transport sectors.

UAE-based newspaper Gulf News quoted him as saying: “Qatar’s recent interim budget has earmarked $18bn for major projects in health, education, infrastructure and transportation, as well as projects related to Fifa 2022.”

There have been $16.4bn of contracts awarded in Qatar this year, according to the projects tracking service MEED Projects.

Projects worth $32.6bn were awarded in Qatar in 2014.

Doha bank expects Qatari GDP per capita to come in above $81,000. This is 13.3 per cent below the GDP per capita recorded in 2014, which came in at $93,397.

The drop in the value of GDP per capita is due to contracting energy revenues amid low oil prices, and the continuing expansion of Qatar’s population, which is mainly driven by an ongoing influx of migrant workers.

The construction sector is expected to witness double-digit growth this year, according to Seetharaman.

In June, Qatar cut its forecast for 2015 real economic growth, which is adjusted for price changes, from 7.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent and announced that it expected its budget to swing into a deficit in 2016.

Previously, in December 2014, Qatar’s Develoment Planning & Statistics Ministry had said it thought Qatar would see a budget surplus in 2016.

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