Trophy building

Qatar has a thing for trophies. A few years ago it was the Asian Games. An athlete’s village and the Aspire Tower sprung up and have  become part of the urban fabric.

Currently in the news is Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Central to the proposal, which seems mad for a winter code where the biggest tournament has to be played in summer, is air-conditioned stadiums. If FIFA believe these can work, the bid may have a shot at glory and a flurry of stadium contracts could be the result for regional contractors.

In the meantime contractors have had a good run at filling Doha’s trophy cabinet with stand out contributions, such as the Museum of Islamic Art, designed by IM Pei and the Jean Nouvel-designed Burj Qatar.

While big name international architects have produced designs, the hard yards on the ground have been done by local firms. Local flavour is also present in the work of companies such as the Arab Engineering Bureau, led by Ibrahim Mohamed Al Jaidah, which has completed projects in Qatar and has promoted Qatari design internationally through a series of embassy designs for the state’s government.

However, it’s not all about trophy building. Qatar’s considerable hydrocarbon wealth – mostly gas, not oil – has both funded building and spurred it on. You can’t process gas into a globally marketable product without building LNG trains. These monster industrial plants make up part of the ‘bread and butter’ work that has built contractors into regional powerhouses, big enough that some – like Black Cat Engineering – are looking beyond their borders, on the prowl for new jobs and diversification.

Even these industrial plants have morphed into a trophy of sorts. Qatar has the most and the biggest LNG trains on the planet, which makes sense given it has the majority of the gas too.

But the Qatari government hasn’t just been chasing the high-profile achievements. A solid chunk of its annual surplus is being spent on infrastructure development.

The Doha North sewerage treatment works is an unglamorous, but vital, example. With a value of $2.2 billion, Qatar’s public works authority Ashghal appointed a JV led by Vinci Construction Grands Projets, which also includes Qatari Diar Vinci Construction and Entrepose Contracting, to build the essential project.

Another government body, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, aka Karamaa, is also pushing on with development. Its current projects include Al Waha water storage project, which is split over two sites. Although simple in nature, the project to build two large water storage tanks is equally essential if Qatar is to sustain its pace of development. It is also the kind of work that keeps contractors, such as Alwaha Contracting and Trading, busy.

Qatar’s industrial expansion is fuelling urban growth. This is being supported by the development of cultural landmarks other countries may look at with a degree of envy. So what else can Qatar pursue? Well it already has itself on the motor sport circuit with the MotoGP. But there is one more sport that needs a fair bit of cash up front and would make for an excellent trophy project; Qatar Grand Prix anyone?

Stuart Matthews is the senior group editor of ITP Business' construction & design tiles.