Qatar eyes metro, bus expansion to beat Doha traffic

Mega transport projects including a metro, light rail system and an expansion of bus networks are in the pipeline to ease road congestion in Qatar's capital city, a new report says.

The Oxford Business Group (OBG) study also highlights a shortage of residential units and says demand will outstrip supply by 2010.

“Mass-transit options, such as Doha metro, light rail system and more extensive bus networks are under development,” says The Report: Qatar 2009 which is due to be published by the OBG on Thursday.

In addition, the railway system is being significantly expanded and could eventually form an integral part of a GCC-wide network linking all the Gulf states, according to a report in The Peninsula on Wednesday.

The OBG report also highlights the success of Qatar’s economic diversification effort with statistics showing non-hydrocarbon growth was up by 27.1 percent in 2007, compared with oil and gas sector growth of 23.7 percent.

It says that while new developments are being built in the Gulf state, a shortage remains likely as it is estimated that by 2010 there will be demand for 250,000 residential units, while supply will have reached a maximum of 244,000 units.

With strong fundamentals and aggressive government commitment to development, Qatar can afford to look forward to 2009 with more confidence than most, the report concludes.

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