Qatar is aiming to keep construction costs including labour and material costs in check by taking a hands-on approach, a report said.

It is looking to regulate commodities by creating a single buying source to import into the country, run by a government subsidiary which will then sell on to the contractors, added Deloitte in its report "GCC Powers of Construction 2014: Are you ready for the recovery?".

Meanwhile, the government has attempted to increase the supply of certain commodities by raising production levels within the country, again by creating government subsidiaries which own these commodities and can stockpile them before prices escalate.

Qatar, in common with the other GCC powerhouses, continues to focus on improving its social infrastructure. Funds have also been set aside for completing the Hamad International Airport, the New Doha Port, the rail and metro projects, and the roads programme.

“A major part of the spending will be on the Qatar Rail project, which is expected to cost around $45 billion to build,” Deloitte said.

The government is preparing to spend in excess of $70 billion, mainly on infrastructure and transport but also on hotels and stadia, in anticipation of the 2022 Fifa World Cup and Qatar Vision 2030.

The Minister of Finance allocated $24 billion to key projects, an increase of 16 per cent from 2013/14; this is also the biggest infrastructure budget in the country’s history.

The Finance Minister also mentioned that he expects spending on projects to reach $182 billion over the next five years. Business Monitor International (BMI) also has a positive outlook and expects the infrastructure sector in Qatar to continue to have double-digit growth over the coming year, according to the Deloitte report.

Lusail City has started receiving its first residents following the completion of the bulk of its infrastructure and the town will be fully ready at the end of 2014 according to Qatari Diar. When completed, it is designed to have over 200,000 people living within it and have a value of around $45 billion. – TradeArabia News Service