Minister of Commerce and Industry and Acting Minister of Finance H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari (third right), inaugurates the 9th Cityscape Qatar 2021, as other officials look on, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), yesterday. PIC: AMR DIAB
Doha: Multi-billion Qatari riyal worth of real estate projects by the country’s leading developers are in the spotlight at the 9th Cityscape Qatar 2021, which was inaugurated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and Acting Minister of Finance H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) yesterday.
The three-day event being held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, features over 30 exhibitors, in addition to over 30 prominent speakers from the local and international real estate industry. The event also serves as a platform for the latest and most prominent real estate project launches by Qatar’s top developers.
During the tour of the exhibition, Minister Al Kuwari stopped at the Barwa Real Estate Group’s stand to set the foundation stone for the launch of Barwa’s new residential project, the 3.47 million square metre development “Furjan Wadi Lusail”.
Abdullah Jubara Al Rumaihi, Group Chief Executive Officer at Barwa said; “In our fulfillment of the Group’s role as a leading national real estate company, we are showcasing non-traditional projects to the Qatari Market, such as ‘Madinatna’ and ‘Barahat Al Janoub’, through our participation at this year’s edition of Cityscape Qatar. The Qatari market is still open for many opportunities, especially in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup 2022”.
Addressing the participants on the first day of the Cityscape conference, which is held in conjunction with the exhibition, Sheikh Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Head of Business Development at Qetaifan Projects spoke on the residential market opportunities in the coming months.
He said: “We have seen our projects gain great sales over the recent months in our residential sector. Our island project has had great success with foreign direct investments and we believe this trend will continue with the additional projects we will launch later this year. We have a range of additional residential projects launching soon also, to meet market demands”.
The conference also discussed digitisation, post-pandemic trends and government initiatives in the real estate industry. Yesterday’s agenda included talks on the rise of digitalisation from top consultants McKinsey & Company, while post-pandemic workspace trends were of key focus during a panel discussion which included speakers from Cushman & Wakefield, Servcorp, and Workinton.
Speaking during the event, Johnny Archer, Partner and Head of Consultancy and Research at Cushman and Wakefield, said the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has already started to impact the supply and demand in the country, noting an increase in new residents on World Cup ‘related’ projects. He added that Qatar will most likely be able to deliver the required accommodation for the World Cup 2022 by the second quarter of next year. Over 45,000 supply of keys are anticipated in Qatar by the fourth quarter of 2022.
Anurag Gupta, Director and Head of Strategy and Real Estate Advisory at KPMG, said infrastructure development in Qatar has intensified in the past few years, with over QR921.6bn worth of infrastructure projects recorded between 2015 and 2021.
He added that the expansion of the freehold and usufruct properties net is a welcome change and the Qatari market is now responding very positively. Gupta said demand in the sale market has improved, with a 70-75 percent increase in recorded enquiries in Q1 2021 compared with the previous quarter of 2020. Changes in trends remained a key focus for companies at the show. Developers have also taken note of changing demands from buyers both local and international, with new projects offering investors access to luxury developments across a range of price points.
Speaking about the diverse range of projects during the event, Chris Speller, Group Director of Cityscape said: “Qatar’s developers have responded quickly and effectively to the changing market and investor needs. The wide range of project launching and on display at this year’s show is testament to that, from luxury waterfront properties to modern commercial developments. We look forward to seeing further launches and initiatives from Qatar’s leading developers over the next two days”.
