Skyline of Doha downtown district. Qatar, Middle East

Why Qatar?

Huge construction projects at various stages fueling demand for interior products for hospitality, residential, commercial and retail projects. Already one of the wealthiest nations on the planet, Qatar has the ambition, budget and vision to continue developing a diverse series of large-scale projects, back by “Qatar National Vision 2030” and the hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Qatar National Vision 2030

Under the Qatar National Vision 2030, the country is set to award an estimated USD 85 billion worth of planned projects in the coming years. Out of these proposed projects (but unawarded), about USD 9.1 billion worth of projects are under study, while about USD 31.7 billion worth of projects are at some stage of tendering, and USD 44 billion projects are in the designing stage. About USD 12.1 billion worth of projects are planned or underway in the oil and gas project market.

FIFA World Cup 2022

The Qatar government has planned to spend around USD 103 billion on major infrastructure projects in preparations for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. The construction industry plays a very important role in achieving infrastructure development and thereby attracting foreign direct investments into the country, which is consistent with Qatar’s vision of becoming a leading hub in the region for world events, including the FIFA 2022 World Cup. The official budget for World Cup-specific construction ranges between USD 8 billion and USD 10 billion, although that is supported by the USD 200 billion being spent more generally to have a new metro system and huge infrastructure ready for 2022.

Qatar Construction Market

Many of these multi-billion dollar projects are now progressing through their design and construction phases, with interior materials, furnishing and fit-out suppliers and products yet to be sourced. Qatar also is investing heavily in developing infrastructure and construction projects, with USD 220+ billion to be invested in: new roads, stadiums, facilities, and numerous major projects including hotels, leisure, and recreation in the planning or construction phase.

The construction sector will be primarily driven by public investment into the country’s transport and commercial construction sectors. The main trends in the construction sector remain to develop Qatar’s transport infrastructure, create a modern residential and hospitality environment to support the predicted increase in population and to create a range of world-class sporting venues. The Qatari construction market covers the growing construction projects in different sectors, like commercial construction, residential construction, industrial construction, infrastructure (transportation construction), and energy and utility construction. Along with the scope of the report also segmented by type of the construction like by fencing, additions and new building.

Food market

Qatar’s food market presents an unmissable and timely opportunity to claim market share and grow businesses. Bearing in mind the Qatari food market’s dependency on imports, and predilection for high-value products, HQ-Food Qatar provides the central stage for food and agricultural produce traders, suppliers, manufacturers, and other industry specialists, to meet major Qatari buyers and ink sizeable deals. This sector is an intrinsic part of Qatar’s economy which has flourished over the years due to the cultular diversity of the country’s population as well as growth in business and leisure tourism that has given rise to a host of restaurants serving different cuisines from around the world. Future growth of the sector is directly linked to the development of the entertainment and tourism sectors of Qatar which is poised to make a great leap forward given the various developments in the country such as FIFA 2022, Doha Metro as well as construction of new malls, hotels and master developments such as Lusail and

$11.8 BILLION PROMISED AT THE PARIS CEDRE CONFERENCE

$11.8 BILLION PROMISED AT THE PARIS CEDRE CONFERENCE

The economy and Lebanon’s construction sector in specific is expected to see a major boost following the CEDRE donor conference which has resulted in $11.8 billion in pledges of financial assistance, out of which $11 billion are in soft loans. There were 51 countries represented at the conference in addition to international donor institutions.

The government requested funding for the first two phases of the Capital Investment Program (CIP) that is divided into three phases, each with a four-year schedule. The CIP includes 250 infrastructure projects worth $17 billion. Around 30 percent of the investments will be earmarked for the transportation sector while water and sewage projects will get another 30 percent. Nearly 20 percent will be allocated to the electricity sector with the remaining 20 percent to be invested in other infrastructure and development projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also intends to invest at least $200 million in Lebanese equities, renewable energy and water resources in 2019.
The government is required to work on each project with the donor country. Grants provided should be approved by the Council of Ministers, and loans should be discussed one by one and enacted in the Parliament.

PLEDGES

PLEDGES

The World Bank pledged $4 billion as soft loans that will be distributed over the course of five years. It is a record for a single largest financial aid package to the country.

The EU promised €1.5 billion ($1.83 billion) in loans, and €150 million ($183 million in grants to subsidize interest dues on these loans. Christian Danielsson, Director General of EU said: “With the external investment plan we broaden our support to generate up to €1.5 billion of investment until 2020.”

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBD) pledged €1.1 billion ($1.34 billion) in soft loans to be implemented within six years.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) promised €800 million ($976 million) in soft loans to be distributed over a period of five years.

Saudi Arabia renewed a $1 billion pledge to the country as soft loans, which was previously been put on hold. The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development announced it will provide $500 million in soft loans. Qatar pledged $500 million to be distributed over five years.

France promised €150 million ($183 million) as a grant, and €400 million ($488 million) to be extended as soft loans.
The United States announced that it would provide $115 million as grants to the country. Turkey promised $200 million as soft loans, Italy €120 million ($146.5 million), Netherlands promised $200 million soft loans, and $100 million loans under conditions. Germany pledged $75 million soft loans, and the UK $170 soft loans.

The Islamic Development Bank promised $750 million in loans, to be transferred within five years.

Construction Market Insight – Saudi Arabia

Construction Market Insight – Saudi Arabia

Promising opportunities for construction projects in the Middle East’s largest market. As vast construction projects continue to develop, especially in the social and transport infrastructure, the Saudi construction sector will witness a significant growth in the coming few years. In fact, the Saudi construction sector is currently valued at 2250 billion SAR, with infrastructure projects alone amounting to 1312.25 billion SAR. Current ongoing projects constitute 82.4% of overall construction activities, reflecting the continued growth and development in the sector.

Supporting factors in the industry’s growth:

• Massive transportation projects
• Development of airports and their facilities
• An investment exceeding 112.5 billion SAR in airport infrastructure by 2020
• 675 billion SAR invested in the development of the transportation infrastructure between 2015-2019
• Population growth and an increasingly young population estimated to reach 35.7 by 2020
• The construction of 6 smart cities by 2025 valued at 412.5 billion SAR, increasing related infrastructure construction activities

Saudi Vision 2030

Saudi Vision 2030

It is a plan to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. Goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products, and increasing government spending on the military, manufacturing equipment and ammunition.

About 80 major projects are expected to be developed in Saudi Arabia by the year 2030. Most of these projects are financed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Main projects of Saudi Vaision are:

National Transformation Program

On the 7th June 2016, the Saudi Council of Ministers approved the National Transformation Program which sets out the goals and targets to be achieved by the Kingdom by 2020.It is the first out of three phases each lasting for five years. Each phase will contribute towards achieving a certain number of goals and targets that will eventually help the Kingdom in reaching the ultimate goals of Vision 2030. Also, to assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to finance all the projects to be developed and facilitate the process of achieving the goals and targets of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced, in January 2016, that an IPO of Saudi ARAMCO is going to take place. However, only 5% of the company will be offered on the stock market.

Red Sea luxury resort project

A beach resort is proposed to be built on the Red Sea between the towns of Umluj and Al-Wajh in the northern section of the Hejazi coast.The resort project will involve, “50 islands and 34,000 square kilometers in a global upmarket tourism and leisure mega-development”and will be, “governed by laws on par with international standards.” The resort will allow women to wear bikinis in the pool and beach areas.

Entertainment sector

In May 2016, a General Authority for Entertainment was announced by royal decree, into which over $2 billion have been invested. In Riyadh, the first public live music concert in over 25 years was held in May 2017, which featured American country star Toby Keith and Saudi singer Rabeh Sager.In April 2017, the government announced a large sports, culture and entertainment complex, of 334 square kilometres (33,400ha) at Al-Qidiya, south-west of Riyadh. The project will include aSix Flagstheme park, due to open in 2022.

CONSTRUCTION MARKET IN LEBANON RECEIVES MAJOR BOOST

CONSTRUCTION MARKET IN LEBANON RECEIVES MAJOR BOOST

Lebanon’s GDP growth should climb to 7 or 8 percent a year by activating tourism, real estate, construction and the banking sector, a study conducted by Fransabank said. The study stressed the significance of increasing public and private investments in Lebanon’s infrastructure, especially the sectors of electricity, telecoms, roads, water and others, in order to stimulate further economic growth.