Qatar focus

LAYING DOWN Asphalt machine is new in the country.
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There is still plenty of opportunity for suppliers, contractors and machine specialists in the once-sleepy country of Qatar.

Different from other Gulf States which have been focusing on construction and real estate projects, Qatar is taking a multi-pronged approach to development that encompasses everything from infrastructure, through to healthcare and education.

It is little secret that thecountry owes its riches to oil revenue – and like other countries it is using this wealth to modernise both the civil and petrochemical infrastructure works.

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Tourism was given a boost back in 2006 when the country hosted the Asian Games, which required a huge amount of work to get stadia, athelete’s villages and the associated tourism infrastructure for visitors ready in time.

However, the downturn hit Qatar like everywhere else, though the abundance of oil money meant that it could recover reasonably quickly.

Materials
Qatar can produce its own fuel, but pretty much all other construction materials need to be shipped in. This makes it particularly vulnerable to peaks and troughs in supply and price of concrete, steel and so on, which is point heavy equipment owners should bear in mind when considering the likely cashflow of the lead contractor.

In particular, the country is reliant on the UAE for aggregates such as cement. As the UAE itself experienced a shortfall in the amount of cement for domestic consumption some time ago, supplying neighboring countries came quite far down the list.
 
Amazingly, until a couple of years ago, aggregates could only be bought from an approved list of suppliers. Fortunately, in a recent diversification of resources, firms are now allowed to import their own stocks to bolster their supplies.

Additionally, local firms are bringing in their own production equipment, such as batching plant, crushers and other process-controlled machinery.

Roads and road buildingGetting lorries and equipment around Qatar has been the usual experience for most operators, with pitted roads and unfit-for- purpose intersections.
 
However, a massive new road building programme has been underway for the past few years, bringing benefits to road users and road builders alike. There are many new roads and interchanges being commissioned by Ashghal – the country’s civic works department.