Qatar’s construction sector to remain strong

The government’s aim to diversify the economy, with a particular emphasis on non-oil sectors, will drive funding towards construction projects over the forecast period (2018 - 2022). In addition, government efforts to enhance regional connectivity by focusing on the development of the country's transport infrastructure will support the industry's growth. Furthermore, construction work related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup will support the forecast-period growth of the industry, according to a Timetrics report.

The industry's output value rose at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.77% during the review period (2013 - 2017), in real terms, and is expected to grow at 15.13% over the forecast period (2018 - 2022).

The report expects the energy and utilities construction market to retain its leading position over the forecast period, with a share of 30.4% of the industry's total value in 2022. In 2017, the government announced a plan to invest QAR14.0 billion ($4 billion) to build 2.7GW of new power plants and 63.0 million gallon of drinking water facilities by 2023.

Under the National Vision 2030, the government also plans to spend QAR45.5 billion ($12.5 billion) to build affordable houses across the country by 2022. Under this, in 2017, the government announced plans to build 10,000 affordable houses with the help of private partner in an area of Lusail, The Pearl and in north and south Doha by 2020.

The Timetrics report expects the infrastructure construction market output to record a forecast-period CAGR of 19.38% in nominal terms, driven by the government’s efforts to develop the country's transport infrastructure. The government plans to invest QAR87 billion ($24 billion) on road and rail development to handle tourist arrivals during 2022 FIFA World Cup, while QAR54 billion ($15 billion) will be invested in the construction of other transport related infrastructure by 2022.

The total construction project pipeline in Qatar as tracked by the Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), including all mega projects with a value above $25 million, stands at QAR924.1 billion ($253.9 billion).

The government is also focusing on the country's education system, which in turn will support the growth of the institutional construction market over the forecast period. In the 2018 budget, the government increased its spending on the education sector by 18%, going from QAR16.1 billion ($4.4 billion) in the 2017 budget to QAR19 billion ($5.5 billion) in the 2018 budget.