By Satish Kanady
DOHA: Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC), the country’s leading provider of primary construction materials or aggregate, is looking to acquire quarries in UAE and Oman to meet growing demand for construction materials.
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.
“Qatar‘s long-term demand for aggregate is projected to 30 million tonnes per year. 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”, Navjot Singh, QPMC Director of Operations told The Peninsula yesterday.
Sea logistic supply chain is another key issue for us. With the demand picking up, the supply chain is likely to experience heavy pressure.
Currently, there are few companies which own barges to ferry aggregates. We are looking to buy something 12 to 15 barges and tugs soon. QPMC is committed to delivering comprehensive solutions for the transport, storage and delivery of key primary materials in the country, he said.
“Material availability, consistent logical pricing and efficient supply chain management is the key to the solution. This can only be achieved through creating state owned assets across the supply chain for about 40 percent of the countries’ long term consistent needs of primary materials.”
An efficient use of the sea around Qatar peninsula and creating an efficient water transportation system for goods will take the pressure off the roads to some degrees, he added.
With the demand picking up, the level of aggregate prices is also going up. The freight on board (FOB) price of aggregates has jumped from QR24 per tonne to QR33 per tonne in a year. QPMC needs to intervene to stabilise the market. We are creating a strategic stockpile of aggregates. Our vision is not limited to World Cup 20222, but beyond that.
QPMC produces washed sand and regulates sale of dune sand in Qatar and this is available for sale in the local market. Currently, QPMC plant provides 1000 tonnes of washed sand per hour with an annual production and sales capacity of 6/0 million tonnes along with strategic stock of 1.0 million and unlimited supply capacity of sand dune with 1,200 truck-loads per day.
QPMC also focus on providing efficient port service at the Gabbro berths and develop them for handling larger import volumes of materials.
Earlier in the day, addressing the 18th Gulf Engineering Forum, Navjot said:“We aim to deliver the capability to design, develop and operate jetties at developers’ request for government projects. We also store a strategic stockpile of aggregates for the government in Mesaieed and deliver washed sand which will regulate the market for dune sand in Qatar”.
“QPMC meets the country’s largest requirements for washed sand and we seek to increase our stockpile of sand and aggregate. We stand for quality, reliability and efficiency “, its Chief Executive Officer, Eisa Al Hammadi said.
The Peninsula
