Qatar requires what literally are astronomical quantities of basic building materials like cement, steel and limestone, among other things, for a large number of mega infrastructure development projects being launched in an exciting build-up to 2022, when the FIFA World Cup will be hosted.
Let’s take the requirement for rebar as an example of how myriad the demand could be. Supplies of this key building material are needed to the tune of over 14.63 million tonnes over an 11-year period beginning 2012.
This should be enough to build more than 375 towers that would be the world’s tallest man-made structures of the size of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which is just 170 metres short of being a kilometre high.
Similarly, the cement requirement, estimated at a huge 57.19 million tonnes, is close to Brazil’s entire production (62.6m tonnes) in 2011 and more than Russia’s total production of 52m tonnes that year.
Incidentally, Brazil was the sixth largest cement producer in the world in 2011 with Russia at the seventh spot. China, India and the US were the world’s top three producers that year.
Likewise, Qatar’s need for asphalt to build roads and other pavement structures is put at more than 46.13m tonnes — enough to build a motorway that connects Doha to Los Angeles, and yet it wouldn’t end.
And considering that a truck can carry 10 tonnes of construction waste, as many as 16.61m truckloads of materials would need to be hauled away from ground excavations, among other works, for the development projects.
A survey by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics last August to assess future demand for primary building materials identified 543 construction projects to be completed by 2022. It vaguely hinted there could be more.
The survey, according to the ministry, was launched in coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the 2022 Supreme Committee and the Central Planning Office (CPO).
All key developers engaged in mega projects were covered and included, aside from CPO and the 2022 Supreme Committee, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Foundation, Msheireb, Ashghal (Public Works Authority), state-backed real state giants Qatari Diar/Lusail, and Barwa Real Estate Company.
Others covered were the New Doha International Airport, utility distributor Kahramaa (Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation), Qatar Rail, Private Engineering Office (at the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning) and the New Doha Port project.
The survey, the ministry said, was conducted at the request of the committee set up to monitor supply and demand of primary materials related to the infrastructure projects and the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The objective was to collect reliable data for the estimates of potential demand for primary building materials over the next 10 years.
It is interesting to note that many respondents didn’t fully respond to the ministry’s request for “general information” and project cost details, the survey noted in Table 2 of its report.
The survey was launched early last April and concluded in late August.
The New Doha Port, Ashghal, Barwa, Lusail and the New Doha International Airport fully cooperated with the survey and provided project costs and other details.
Msheireb, and Qatar Foundation gave limited project cost details, while Qatar Petroleum shared no cost details despite the fact that out of the 543 projects on which the survey was based more than half (281) were listed against QP’s name.
Ashghal ranked second in terms of the number of projects, at 149; another 36 projects being carried out by Ashghal and CPO jointly; Qatar Foundation, 19; Qatar Rail, 17, and the Supreme Committee, 17.
The New Doha International Airport (NDIA) listed a dozen projects, while Barwa, five, and Lusail/Qatari Diar, also five.
The survey rued that only 58 percent of requested general information was provided by the respondents and only 36 percent when it came to baring project cost details.
However, the response was 72 percent in the case of details requested for building material requirements of the targeted audience (the developers).
According to the survey, demand for basic building materials is expected to peak between 2014 and 2016.
Demand in this three-year period is anticipated to be more than half of the total for the entire period of 11 years — from 2012 to 2022.
During the overall period (2012 to 2022), limestone was identified as having the maximum demand at an estimated 515m tonnes, followed by gabbro (264m tonnes).
Spoil removal and disposal from excavated ground and other construction-related work were estimated at an incredible 166m tonnes.
The ministry, however, cautioned that the consolidated numbers presented in the survey report must be treated with care as the data collection process was affected by non-response and missing values.
A rapid growth in demand for basic building materials is anticipated in 2014 and 2015.
For example, demand for spoil removal and disposal is expected to rise by a huge 169 percent in 2014 and only 13 percent in 2015, since this period (2014-15) will basically be the initial ground excavation phase.
Likewise, demand for gabbro shows an increase of 145 percent in 2014 and 86 percent in 2015, and that of bitumen, the growth seen next year is 139 percent and a similarly high 137 percent in 2015.
This could be primarily because road construction could be at its peak during this period.
Limestone demand was also seen increasing by 131 percent and 127 percent, respectively, in 2014 and 2015.
The use of cement and sand is also projected to peak during these two years.
It is interesting to note here that during the 11-year build-up to 2022 the maximum demand for materials like asphalt, bitumen, gabbro and limestone is to come from road projects.
Talking of the projects and demand for basic building materials, a civil engineer working in the private sector said: “It’ a massive, massive thing happening here”.
He didn’t want to be identified as he was not authorised by his company to interact with the media on such matters.
Never in the history of as small a country as Qatar have projects of such gigantic proportions been launched over such a short span, he added.
Construction industry insiders and real estate experts, among them, Khalifa Al Muslemani, have been repeatedly warning of the need to closely monitor demand and supply (of primary building materials), cautioning that even temporary shortages caused by import-related hiccups could push their prices up.
Industry insiders insist that their fears of shortages and price escalations are justified given their “bitter” experience during the construction boom that preceded the Asian Games.
But there are others who argue that given the fact that the government is too keen to ensure timely completion of the projects shortages are unlikely.
“We must remember that the government is not taking any chances and has actually appointed a high-profile committee solely tasked with keeping close track on the demand and supply situation,” said a construction industry source.
“We don’t, therefore, see shortages taking place while the mega projects are on. And it is natural that if there are no shortages, there wouldn’t be sudden and unexpected manipulations in the pricing of these basic building materials.
“So project costs would likely remain under control,” he added.
The Peninsula
