The current focus of Qatar’s industrial strategy is to spur the growth rate of the small and medium-sized industries. This sector has great potential to leverage the contribution of industrial sector to the country’s GDP, Yousef Al Emadi, Director of the Department of Industrial Zones at the Ministry of Energy and Industry, told Qatar News Agency (QNA).
He said that the Ministry of Energy and Industry is preparing the manufacturing sector to achieve self-sufficiency and to diversify the sources of income as well as to make this sector a main source of the national income streams. The ministry’s efforts, he said, has resulted in a steady increase in the number of initial approvals issued to many projects and in the number of final licenses.
According to Al Emadi, the number of factories registered has increased from 334 in 2000 to 707 by the end of 2016, an increase of 211.7 percent. The workforce of this sector amounts to over 88,000, he said.
The ministry is in the process of completing the administrative procedures with the competent authorities in the state to allocate a land to expand the current area. Once these procedures are completed, the expansion process will begin.
The initiatives launched by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce in recent years have been an important step in the development and settlement of the small and medium industries sector to enhance its contribution to the national economy in order to establish a diversified and competitive economy.
Through the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Qatar has launched pioneering initiatives to support and motivate the field of private sector, such as the establishment of four low-cost storage areas that provide the market with about 2 million square meters of storage space at competitive prices to suit their demands in 2018 and 2019. These projects are expected to stimulate the private sector by injecting an estimated QR2,8bn in this field.
Four logistic areas are being implemented to meet the shortage of storage space by providing 8 million square meters to cover the need of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and secure logistical services. These projects are expected to bring private investment estimated at more than QR24bn.Qatar Development Bank (QDB) plays a major role in promoting the localization of the industrial sector, either through partnership with those entities involved in implementing development projects in the country or by providing direct support to help include Qatari manufacturers in the supply chains accredited by the authorities that undertake development projects in the State, especially infrastructure projects. Official data indicate that the production of local industries is almost equal to 30 percent to 35 percent of the products imported by the state.
QDB’s export program ‘TASDEER’ is helping the country in a big way to boost its non-oil exports.
Since its launch in 2011, the programme helped Qatari non-oil exports to reach 14 percent of the total exports. Before the launch of the program, Qatar’s non-oil export did not exceed 6 percent of its total exports.
Currently, Qatari SMEs have access to a large number of markets and have a solid footprint. QDB seeks to increase the sector’s contribution and introduce new knowledge-based industries.
The bank’s financing portfolio has reached QR7.5bn. The Bank is committed to financing all projects that contribute to the country’s self-sufficiency and that add value to the local economy.
