by Conrad Egbert

Qatar could potentially be the next GCC country to experience a massive construction boom according to some industry experts in the Emir state.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Construction Week Qatar Briefing, which was held last week at the Grand Hyatt in Doha, Al Wa’ab City President and COO Brian Meilleur said, “Qatar is on the verge of a boom and it’s interesting how not many people are aware of it.

With its economy growing by around 10% yearly and construction going ahead at a steady pace, it’s only too obvious that the country is soon going to be the next big place in construction.”

With many developments modelled on Dubai’s successful game plan, Qatar too, has invested in multi billion dollar city developments including Energy City, Education City and Lusail City.

And by sitting on an estimated 15% of the world’s natural gas reserves, Qatar seems to have the means to forge its way through the cash strapped times.

“Pick up any newspaper or watch any news telecast and you’ll find Qatar in the news with regards to its natural gas reserves,” said project manager on the Barwa Village development Khalid Abdulla Al Hitmi.

“The government of Qatar is not slowing down in terms of construction activity,” he said. “In our office we have 24-hour live telecasts from our many construction sites where we monitor onsite activity and progress. This is how confident we are about the market here.”

But other industry figures have taken a more thoughtful approach. Among them was United Development Company’s
(UDC) senior communications officer Kristo Ayad.

“Qatar is definitely going ahead with construction and has surely been less affected by the financial crisis than other GCC states, but people here still tread carefully,” said Ayad. “We’re making sure we don’t go overboard and make the mistakes that some other GCC states made in a mad rush to cash in on the construction boom.”

UDC is the development company overseeing US 2.5 billion (QAR9 billion) The Pearl Qatar.