Big things planned for small Qatar

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Qatar pays homage to its history as a major pearl trader.

Qatar is one of the smallest Gulf countries in terms of population and geographical area, but has big things on the horizon. MEP Middle East takes a closer look at some major projects and key focus areas.

At the recent centennial conference and exhibition of the International District Energy Association (IDEA) in Washington DC, it was revealed that Qatar Cool is building a true behemoth at The Pearl. “At 120,000 TR, it will be one of the biggest in the world to be built as a single plant,” said Tabreed CEO Sujit S. Parhar.

Qatar Cool is a private sector JV 51% owned by the United Development Company (51%), 44% owned by Tabreed of Abu Dhabi, and 5% owned by private Qatari investors. The company focuses on the cost-effective provision of district cooling services for the public, commercial and industrial sectors, especially in the rapidly-developing West Bay commercial district of Doha.

The Pearl, also known as the Riviera Arabia, is an artificial island spanning nearly four million square metres. When completed in 2011, it will create over 32 kilometres of new coastline for use as a residential estate with an expected 15 000 dwellings. Developed by the United Development Company (UDC) and master-planned by architectural and design firm Callison, the US$2,5 billion (QR9,1 billion) project is located 350 metres offshore of Doha’s West Bay Lagoon area.

Reclaimed

The Pearl is being built on a reclaimed pearl-diving reef in the Arabian Gulf. It will have a Riviera-style theme that will encompass 7,600 freehold residential units accommodating 30,000 residents. The residential units will be contained in 21 20-storey towers with 3,116 apartments and 410 town houses/detached villas. The Pearl will also contain ten themed districts (Porto Arabia, Viva Bahriyah, Costa Malaz, Isola Dana, The Quartiers, La Plage Villas, Bhari Villas, The Grand Cruz), three luxury hotels, four marinas that can accommodate over 700 boats, leisure facilities, and 60,000 square metres of luxury retail and restaurant space.

The name ‘The Pearl’ was chosen to reflect Qatar’s history as a major pearl trader of Asia before the Japanese introduced a more affordable variety of pearls (which was well before the current oil boom.) When completed, the project will literally represent a string of pearls set against the backdrop of the ocean.

There will be over 13 islands in total. The largest will feature a large range of luxury villas, apartments, three five-star hotels and over two million square metres of international retail, restaurants, cafés and entertainment. Eight other private islands will be for sale to private owners together with building rights. The Pearl will be linked to the mainland by a four-lane, palm-tree-lined super highway.

First development

Recently La Plage Villas West was the first development on The Pearl to receive district cooling services from Qatar Cool. “Qatar Cool took on the challenge of building the largest district cooling plant in the world to serve this massive development. The district cooling plant will not only deliver chilled water to commercial outlets, residential apartments, hospitality and other facilities, but to individual standalone villas as well,” said Qatar Cool GM Fayad Al Khatib in outlining the project.

Ahmed Hassan Bilal, a major property developer in Qatar, took ownership of the first villa in The Pearl to be provided with district cooling. “I am privileged to have the distinction of being the first to complete my personal villa project,” commented Bilal. He said the benefits of district cooling included its cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency, plus it was less noisy and had a smaller footprint than conventional air-con, allowing the villa to sport an additional terrace as a result.

“As a property developer, the need for environment-friendly energy sources and solutions has always been a priority. I am confident that the tenants of our properties in The Pearl will have the facilities to enjoy the lifestyle they are looking for [in a responsible manner].”

Tower 4

In other recent news at The Pearl, owner and master developer UDC staged a lavish unveiling of Tower 4 at Porto Arabia. “This is just the first of 31 towers that will rise to the skies at Porto Arabia. Your new neighbourhood will be a virtual UN of 28 different countries. When completed, The Pearl will home to 52 nationalities,” commented The Pearl acting property manager Sami Abu Kishk.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Uh no...
Posted by Khalifa, Qatar on Sunday 16 August 2009 at 11:54 UAE time


No the Pearl isn't also known as Riviera Arabia. That is the name of one of the sections of the Pearl.

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