DOHA: Qatar is amending several laws to pave the way for greater participation of private players in areas like health, education, manufacturing and logistic services, including warehousing facilities.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce is working on the plan and making sure that laws are changed to ensure increasing participation of private companies.
The Minister of Economy and Commerce is expected to discuss proposed amendments and plans to bolster the private sector’s role in the economy with the sector’s representatives soon.
He was yesterday asked to meet private sector representatives by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani at a meeting of the three ministerial groups yesterday.
One group is to take care of strategic development projects and another to ensure greater participation of private players in health, education, manufacturing and logistics. The third is on allocation and development of new land for housing, commercial and industrial activities.
The group for development projects is also tasked with controlling price rise and inflation.
The three groups were set up by the Premier last month, reports Qatar News Agency (QNA).
They were formed following directives of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to complete major projects related to economic development, stimulate private sector participation in economic development projects, fight inflation and rising prices and provision of services.
The Minister of Economy and Commerce, also Chairman of the group to stimulate private sector participation in economic development projects, made a presentation on the outcome of his group and the action plan.
He said the plan includes amending laws to allow greater contribution of the private sector in sectors, including health, education, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics.
The Minister of Finance and Chairman of the group for coordination and follow-up on projects of strategic importance, submitted a report on the work of the group, the size and number of current and future projects and means of following up on their implementation in terms of duration and budgets.
He said the group is keen to maintain efficiency in implementing projects within approved budgets.
The Premier stressed the need for a clear mechanism to deal with any delays that might increase the cost of a project.
The Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning and Chairman of the group tasked with allocating and developing land for various purposes, spoke on the group’ outcome in terms of the budget for land, size and number of plots and space allocated for various activities.
The Premier asked the Minister to arrange meetings with real estate development companies to review the country’s urban development plans and make them public.
The Peninsula
