From left: Fahad Hussain Alfardan, Owner of Q-FAB, Clifford Lasrado, Director at Q-FAB, and Samar Pal Bais, General Manager for Sales and Rental at Q-FAB
Doha: Qatar’s construction industry, which is estimated to reach over $76.98bn by 2026, will maintain its growth momentum and will get a further boost from massive projects related to the country’s $28.7bn North Field LNG expansion as well as the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, according to officials from Q-FAB.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the inauguration of Q-FAB’s new sales and service centre at the Manateq’s Logistics Park in Al Wukair yesterday, Fahad Hussain Alfardan, Owner of Q-FAB, reiterated that the facility valued at over QR100m (including the equipment), was also built towards the national vision to diversify the country’s economy and provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“Manateq has provided us with this beautiful facility with all the latest technology such as fibre optic and the best environment to do business. We have all the construction and industrial products available including the machinery, equipment and spare parts, as well as an after sales service like no other in Qatar. We will continue with the construction boom that we’re expecting, and Qatar is in the right position to keep its momentum going for the next 10 years,” said Alfardan.
He added that Q-FAB, which has been operating in Qatar for almost 30 years supplying construction and industrial equipment in the Qatari market, also wants to grow its operations in Kuwait.
Speaking about weathering the pandemic, Alfardan said: “We know that this pandemic is just a period of time and it’s going to pass. Next year is going to be better than this year. People are a little bit reluctant to start investing. But we are not. We’ll also continue with the Phase 2 of the facility behind, and another facility in Ras Laffan to service projects in Ras Laffan North Field”.
Speaking about Qatar’s construction activities, Clifford Lasrado, Director at Q-FAB, noted the growing demand for construction equipment in the country. The company, which sells and leases construction and industrial equipment, has delivered over QR25m worth of equipment to buyers on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony yesterday.
“The construction market is now moving to smaller types of equipment because it’s more in the finishing stages for 2022. We do see another rise in demand for larger construction equipment probably starting in late 2023 to beginning of 2024,” Lasrado said.
He added: “There will be all kinds of construction projects. Basically, the construction is going to spread outside of Doha, so there will be a lot of infrastructure type projects and of course the North Field LNG expansion project, which itself creates a lot of spin offs in accommodation, plants, and others”.
Lasrado said the new facility still has equipment stock worth over QR50m available for buyers.
“To build a facility like this, it’s for the 2030 vision. This is a long-term investment. We have been in business for 30 years, and hopefully we’ll be here for 30 years more,” he said.
Samar Pal Bais, General Manager for Sales and Rental at Q-FAB added: “Today, Q-FAB would be possibly the largest one-stop-shop for construction and industrial equipment in Qatar. We have been involved in all the major projects in Qatar, and have supplied equipment right from the construction of the Port, to the expansion of the airport, the highways, as well as the stadiums. Q-FAB has been supplying equipment to the contractors who have been building these.
“Between 2012 and 2019, there was a peak in Qatar’s construction sector because of all the mega projects such as the Orbital highway, East-West corridor, and the stadiums. But 2022 is not the end, because Qatar has a national vision 2030. And at the same time, the North Field LNG expansion will give a major boost to the construction activities there, and to Qatar’s construction industry in general,” he said.
Bais added that the COVID-19 pandemic had little impact to Qatar’s construction sector. He said that the company did not let go of any employee despite the pandemic.
“Nobody was let go of. We like to take care of our employees and see them for the long-term. And because Qatar’s construction industry did not stop during the pandemic, nobody was let go of. In fact, what gave us the push during the middle of the pandemic was the airport expansion. We also secured one of the largest deals in Qatar for construction equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was close to €5m related to the airport expansion,” he added.
