Partner Content

A partner’s perspective on working with Sharakat

Saudi Arabia’s water scarcity is at the centre of a blossoming infrastructure market, with private partners at its core. Its prosperity is reflected in the success of a number of flagship projects

By SHARAKAT

Qatari Diar Real Estate Development Company (Qatari Diar) was established in 2004 by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority with a start-up capital of $1bn. Its remit was to invest in and develop real estate schemes and social and community projects.

Since its launch, Qatari Diar has built up assets worth more than $35bn through investments in the real estate and banking sectors, in part by taking strategic stakes in other real estate developers and facilities management companies.

The firm has a portfolio of 50 projects in 29 countries and employs 350 people worldwide. One of its biggest projects is the Lusail City development in Doha, which is designed to house up to 200,000 residents when completed.

Qatari Diar has formed several joint venture construction and facilities management firms. It signed agreements with Germany’s Hochtief in 2008 and France’s Vinci Construction in 2010.

An important local subsidiary is Barwa Real Estate Company, in which Qatari Diar holds a 45 per cent stake. Barwa’s core business activities include property development, brokerage, appraisal, property management and property investment. One of its largest projects undertaken to date is the Barwa Financial District, located in the West Bay area of Doha and which it sold to Qatar Petroleum in the fourth quarter of 2011 for an estimated $3bn.

In 2009, Qatari Diar formed a joint venture with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn to establish the Qatar Railways Development Committee (QRDC). Under QRDC, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) is overseeing the development of Qatar’s $35bn rail network.

Qatari Diar’s financial position is underpinned by its status as a government-backed company. Due to its vast gas resources, the state enjoys enviable hydrocarbon revenues. In 2013, the mining and quarrying sector, including oil and gas, contributed QR148.4bn ($40.8bn) to Qatar’s GDP, according to the Ministry of Development Planning & Statistics.

Qatari Diar has been raising its international profile by taking on high-end real estate schemes in prime locations

Qatari Diar is best known for its luxury real estate schemes, both locally and internationally. At home, the firm has acted as the master planner and developer on several major projects designed to increase the volume and variety of accommodation available and to raise the international profile of the country. These include the Lusail City scheme, which covers a total area of 35,000 square kilometres to the north of Doha and which will contain housing, tourist attractions and the main stadium for the 2022 World Cup. Qatari Diar is also developing the Doha Convention Centre & Tower project, which consists of a 104-storey tower, a 100,000-square-metre convention centre and other amenities.

In addition to its central role in Qatar’s expanding property market, Qatari Diar has been raising its international profile in recent years by taking on several high-end real estate schemes in prime locations. The $5bn development of London’s former Chelsea Barracks is an example.

Qatari Diar has expanded into several new markets, most notably with its estimated $700m investment in the CityCenterDC project in Washington, its first major foray into the US property market, in 2011. In London, it is developing East Village, built from the Olympic Athletes’ Village, in a 50:50 joint venture with the UK’s Delancey.

The company is also developing schemes in countries including Egypt and Vietnam. In November 2011, Qatari Diar signed $543.8m-worth of deals with contractors to build two projects in Egypt. The contracts allocated $464.3m to Qatari Diar’s Nile Corniche project in Cairo and $79.5m to a coastal resort development in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Construction work on the $600m Al-Rayan Hills project in Yemen began in November 2008, along with work on the $400m Musheireb mixed-use development in Sudan. Qatari Diar also has a masterplanned city in Ramallah in Palestine. These overseas developments reflect a desire to build up both diplomatic and economic links with poorer countries. They also offer an opportunity to cater to the needs of the local residents of these countries, who have returned home from working overseas and can afford luxury homes.

Until December 2010, when Qatar won the right to host the Fifa 2022 World Cup, the company’s focus was shifting increasingly to projects in overseas markets and progress on its $33bn Lusail City had fallen behind schedule. Now, with just eight years left to build the infrastructure to host the world’s largest sporting event, Qatari Diar’s focus is firmly back on its home market. The firm has a critical role to play in building the infrastructure at Lusail for the event and is also involved in the development of the country’s national railway.

Lusail City will accommodate the main stadium for the event, so infrastructure must be completed within the scheduled timeline to ensure that all the other necessary buildings required to host the competition can be completed to plan.

The development will also house an iconic 600-room, five-star hotel with a waterpark in the marina district. It is being built by the local Katara Hospitality and is scheduled to open in 2018. Qatar Rail will also play a significant role in delivering transport infrastructure for the event.

Qatari Diar is a wholly government-owned company and therefore does not report annual profits or losses, making it difficult to assess its success on purely commercial grounds.

However, as a state-backed firm, funding its planned projects will not be an issue. The strength of its financial position is highlighted by its ambitious projects, such as the Lusail City scheme, on which few international developers would consider embarking alone.

The firm’s decision to venture into other Middle East countries shows that it is not afraid to take risks in new markets. However, with the political unrest from the Arab Uprisings still evident around the Middle East, and civil unrest now rife in Sudan, the short-term future of these projects may be in doubt.