For visitors to the Doha Asian Games in late 2006, it must have appeared that construction in Qatar had reached its peak. But the consensus among those in the construction industry was that once the games were over, Doha would launch a raft of new megaprojects. The surprise was how long this took to happen, but it is clearly now under way.

Towards the end of 2007, and after years of design work, the contracting consortium was selected for the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway.

As 2008 has progressed, more building projects have reached the end of the design process and are now ready for tender, especially in the high-rise sector, as Doha aims to transform itself.

Over the past few weeks, contractors have been approached for two super-high-rise towers on the corniche: the 510-metre-tall Qatar National Bank headquarters building and a 100-storey tower planned by Abu Dhabi’s Al-Jaber Group.

More projects are on the way, including the high-rise tower that will form the centrepiece of the new convention centre. Further projects are expected as development along the corniche reaches critical mass.

This is good new for the construction industry as these projects create welcome opportunities for contractors. They will undoubtedly attract the attention of regional heavyweights.

Doha could soon have a skyline to match its ambitions as a regional business centre.