DOHA: Several major European companies seeking new investment opportunities will be attending the annual Qatar Projects 2012 conference which will take place in Doha on February 5-8 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
More than $106bn of major projects will be awarded between now and 2022 in the state, with significant investment in oil and gas, heavy industry, electricity generation and water desalination, social infrastructure and transportation links, according to Meed's 2011/12 Qatar Projects report.
Infrastructure spending will dominate the next five years with around $65bn due to be invested in a series of new transportation schemes including the new $11bn New Doha International Airport, the $6bn Doha Port project and a $25bn metro and railway.
"More European architecture and construction firms are expected to head to Qatar as it invests heavily in building a world-class infrastructure system both for the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2022 and for Qatar Vision 2030," said Edmund O'Sullivan, Chairman, Meed Events.
British engineering firm Atkins is the latest European company to be awarded a project in Qatar after it won a $107m contract earlier this month to set up a Central Planning Office for infrastructure and transport contracts, its second major contract win there in recent months.
Atkins is one of several European firms attending the conference. Others include Mott MacDonald, Foster + Partners and GMP Architekten. Leading multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, Hilson Moran, is another European company that is increasing its focus on Qatar after it opened its second GCC office in Doha last year.
While last year's conference attracted a record-breaking 644 attendees, the 2012 event has been expanded to include more client-led presentations and case study analysis, providing an in-depth look at the mega projects and investment and construction opportunities available. Increased focus on market research data with detailed sector profiles and forecasts providing invaluable future project information will add a new dimension to the debate with two days of interactive discussion.
Separate conference streams will focus on energy projects covering petrochemicals, power and water, as well as road, rail, aviation, real estate, social infrastructure and sports sector initiatives.
The confirmed list of speakers includes; H.E. Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank; Engineer Nasser Ali Al Mawlawi, President, Ashghal; Remy Rowhani, Director General, Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry; George Nasra, Managing Director, IBQ; Engineer Saad Ahmed Ibrahim Al Mohanadi, CEO, Qatar Railways Company; Khalifa Al Sowaidi, Managing Director, Qafco; Monjid Abdelmajeed, Managing Director, Redco Construction - Almana, and Engineer Jalal Yousef Al Salihi, Director, Infrastructure Affairs, Public Works Authority (Ashghal).
Qatar Projects 2012 is sponsored by International Bank of Qatar and Redco Construction - Almana. The official conference partner is Qatar Petroleum, supported by the Ministry of Business and Trade and Ashghal.
© The Peninsula 2012
