Qatar’s plans will not be affected by lower oil price, but there may be more opportunities for private finance to play a role in the country’s infrastructure, according to experts.

Mamoon Alameen, a specialist on project delivery, who will be speaking at the MEED Qatar Projects Conference, which will take place on March 10 and 11 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Doha, said: “The slide in the oil sector will not affect Qatar’s ability and willingness to execute their plans. It may, however, catalyse PPP (public-private partnerships) in many sectors.”

The conference is being organised with the support of Ashghal, Qatar’s public works agency.
Projects needed to support the Fifa World Cup finals 2020 will play a critical role in delivering Qatar’s long-term vision, according to Alameen.

“World Cup projects are very small compared to the infrastructure projects the state of Qatar planned to undertake even before being awarded the (tournament),” he said.

“World Cup projects, nevertheless, will play the role of a catalyst to prioritise projects and give a firm deadline for their completion.”

Ahmad Al Jolo, chairman, Qatar Society of Engineers, said: “Major projects will continue as they are planned.  The government will be extra cautious on how to spend the money.”

Al Jolo will discuss the importance of introducing world-class procurement, project management and risk mitigation strategies to build resilient client contractor partnerships to succeed in Qatar’s projects market at the conference.

“There were some drops on real estate projects. Budgets are becoming little bit tight.  But the over all picture of expenditure on infrastructure in Qatar is continuing,” he said.

“A strategic procurement strategy is imperative to sustain projects without overheating the market. This could entail: ensuring sufficient supply of raw materials, providing easy access to funds from local banks with low interest rates; staggering the procurement process to maintain a steady demand and supply; aligning timings for tendering for big projects,” Al Jolo added.

The scale, number and complexity of the projects planned in Qatar will require a different approach by those responsible for managing them, according to Alameen.

“The interdependence between resources and interconnected projects underline the need for complex optimization and careful planning by both the private sector and the public sector beyond the usual methods,” he said.

“Management science allows the minimisation of stress on the market. Qatar has a unique opportunity to do this because of its unique structure that allows coordination to reduce cost and increase efficiency,” he added. - TradeArabia News Sevice