Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC), the country’s top provider of primary construction materials/aggregate, aims to buy quarries in the UAE and Oman to meet the growing demand for building products, said a report.

The company is also set to own over a dozen barges and tugs to ensure a smooth supply chain, foreseeing a possible pressure on aggregate distribution going forward, reported The Peninsula.

A major producer of washed sand, QPMC regulates sale of dune sand in Qatar and makes it available for sale in the local market.

Currently, the plant provides 1,000 tonnes of washed sand per hour with an annual production and sales capacity of six million tonnes along with strategic stock of one million and unlimited supply capacity of sand dune with 1,200 truck-loads per day, said the report citing a senior official.

"The demand for primary materials is set to pick up in the coming years. We need to make sure the supply chain is not hit. We are in the process of acquiring both gabbro and limestone quarries in UAE and Oman," stated Navjot Singh, the company's director of operations.

Qatar‘s long-term demand for aggregate is projected to 30 million tonnes per year, he added.