They see the demand peaking at a rather feverish pace roughly five years from now. “These initial five years would mostly see the groundwork being done for the major projects to take off,” said real estate expert Ahmed Al Oruqi. The work would include initial preparations, excavations and scaffolding, among other things.
Industry sources argue that the demand being huge, it would be met through imports. But current port facilities are not adequate to handle large imports. Moreover, New Doha Port, with much enhanced facilities, will be ready for commissioning only in 2016.
“So how do you handle the peaking demand until then,” asks an industry insider. “It is not possible to handle such huge imports with the port facilities in place.”
There are no problems related to supplies now since demand remains limited, claim industry sources. “There are no shortages yet,” said an industry source. Nevertheless, due to factors out of the industry’s control the prices of some building materials have risen while those of the others have taken a beating in line with global trends.
The industry expects that when the demand peaks, much of the supplies could be easily accessed from some of the neighbouring countries.
True. Steel producers, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have already begun making a foray into the Qatari market.
According to industry sources, this is mainly because their own markets are saturated and they have excess production, so they must look to dump their products elsewhere.
“These GCC producers are, therefore, desperately looking to dump their products in the booming Qatari market, where they see feverishly increasing demand,” said another industry source.
Some producers (especially of steel, in the UAE) have launched a publicity blitzkrieg in Qatar. “A UAE cement producer has already put up roadside billboards all over,” the source pointed out.
However, according to others in the industry, project managements here could be dependent on imports from countries outside the region as well.
Regional and global producers of building materials have been impatiently waiting to take advantage of the 2022-related construction boom here.
“It is good for project managements in Qatar because rising competition would slash prices,” said Al Oruqi. At the same time supply security could be ensured.
“Import choices would vary from project to project but, of course, pricing, supply security and efficiencies related to deliveries are key considerations in accessing materials in bulk,” the insider added.
