Qatar’s Dohaland recently celebrated its second anniversary amid a host of achievements and milestones.

The company was officially launched in 2009 with a mandate from Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser to address the gap in the architectural history of Qatar and rediscover a unique form of Qatari urban development.

Dohaland’s journey saw the company achieve numerous crucial milestones in 2010, beginning on January 13, 2010, when Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Sheikha Moza, chairperson of Dohaland, inaugurated Musheireb’s groundbreaking event and launched the Knowledge Enrichment Centre.

One of the significant landmarks of Doha today, the Knowledge Enrichment Centre, moored off Doha Corniche, is dedicated to promoting the heritage of the country and initiates a knowledge sharing exercise in the region

A popular venue for hosting exhibitions, forums and symposiums, the Knowledge Enrichment Centre was also a focal point for Qatar’s National Day celebrations in 2010.

“Our achievements to date are testament of our commitment to meet the challenging deadlines that we have set for ourselves and live up to Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser's vision. We have a long road ahead of us, but these achievements prove we are on the right track, leading in the field of sustainable urban regeneration of culturally sensitive and environmentally responsible developments,” said Dohaland’s CEO, Eng Issa M Al Mohannadi.

In August last year, Dohaland launched its hospitality division, Dohaland Hospitality, with a mandate to establish a leading hotel management company capable of managing properties globally. Dohaland Hospitality appointed the globally renowned Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to operate and manage a new luxury city centre hotel and serviced apartments to be built as part of the Musheireb development.

Dohaland Hospitality also signed an agreement with Premier Inn to introduce ’value hotel model’ to Qatar. The first project announced under the Joint Venture Agreement would be a 200-room hotel to be built at the Doha Education City, home to some of the leading educational institutes in the world.

Al Mohannadi was awarded the ‘Property Development CEO of the Year’ by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute on April 21, 2010. He joined the honour roll alongside esteemed leaders such as Al Gore, US Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President; Dominic De Villepin, former Prime Minister of France; and Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Dohaland’s proactive stance toward environmental and sustainability issues could be seen through their collaboration in hosting the first Green and Sustainability Summit 2010 (DGSS), and celebrating the World Environment Day with a ‘Green Pledge’ on June 5th, where over 600 visitors signed a pledge that called upon the people of Qatar to promise to protect their natural environment and resources.

On the construction front, the company signed a landmark contracting agreement worth QR1.56 billion with Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co and HBK Contracting Co for constructing major buildings in Phase 1A of Musheireb.

Dohaland also awarded a design and build contract for two district cooling plants in Musheireb worth QR182 million to Drake & Scull Water and Power (DSWP).
 
A crucial construction milestone for the Musheireb project was also reached in June 2010 when the concrete pour for Phase 1A began. –TradeArabia News Service