Steel Master Limited’s General Manager Ziad Alaskari, at the Project Qatar press conference. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah/The Peninsula
There is greater demand now for service-oriented businesses in Qatar as major construction projects in the country are nearing their completion. According to Haidar Mshaimesh, Acting General Manager of International Fairs and Promotions (IFP) Qatar, which is the organiser of the 16th Project Qatar, the country’s construction market is currently in a transition phase.
Addressing a press conference recently, he said, “There are more and grand investment opportunities in the construction market. Many projects are nearing completion, so there are more opportunities for service businesses such as landscaping, lighting, smart technology, as well as for developing new iconic projects”.
Ghassan Oueijan, Managing Director of Nakheel Landscapes, also said, “Most of the main governmental infrastructure projects are almost completed or are under construction for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Majority of the stadiums, metro, and roads are nearing completion. It’s time for us in the landscaping industry to add the final touches. We believe that beautification and maintenance works will be our primary activity during the coming years, to make the country greener for the residents and millions of expected visitors”.
Talking to The Peninsula, Steel Master Limited’s General Manager Ziad Alaskari, also said the company is set to work on several new projects in the coming years. Established here in 2011, the company has already worked on a number of major construction projects here such as providing steel work services to the Baladna dairy farm which now houses around 14,000 cows.
Other projects also include the Amiri Airport Terminal, Qatar Economic Zones, Mall of Qatar, Banana Island and Lusail Islands, and other hotels and stadiums here. The company provides steel products and services such as structural steel engineering and other miscellaneous metal works.
Alaskari also said, “We’re currently doing industrial and commercial projects with big contractors here. Qatari market is promising. I believe we still have a lot of work that needs to be done in Qatar related to the World Cup. We are preparing ourselves to go outside and do exporting in the future, but not within the next two years. We have a lot of commitments to be fulfilled here”.
In a recent interview with ‘The Oil & Gas Year’ (TOGY), Qatar Chamber’s Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani has also said that the pace of projects in Qatar would continue after the World Cup, with more than 150 large-scale projects worth billions of dollars to be offered after 2022. He said the projects are related to infrastructure development, roads, and construction of buildings, hospitals, and schools.
