Qatar 2008

SPECIAL REPORT

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE Page 2

Competing for the ultimate prize

Real estate is booming

Qatar’s capital city, Doha, is a serious contender to host the 2016 Olympic Games Page 4

Properties in developments like the Pearl-Qatar are in high demand Page 5

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

INSIDER VIEW

Qatar Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia Capital: Doha Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut GDP (purchasing power parity): $26.37 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.1% (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.1% industry: 75.8% services: 24.1% (2006 est.)

Industries: crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair Exports - commodities: liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel Imports - partners: France 13.4%, Japan 10.2%, US 9.3%, Italy 8.9%, Germany 7.8%, UK 6.3%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, South Korea 4.7% (2006) Flag description: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side Labor force: 508,000 (2006 est.)

OUR TEAM Project Director: Nathalie Martin-Bea Editorial Research: Matthew Carroll and Katrien Hermans For further information contact: Summit Communications 1040 First Avenue, Suite 395, New York, NY 10022-2902 Tel: 1 (212) 286-0034, Fax: 1 (212) 286-8376, E-mail: info@summitreports.com

Made rich by vast reserves of oil and gas, the State of Qatar is looking to its future. Its ruler, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, sees science and technology as the engines of prosperity and has shifted the national focus to education, healthcare, and research and development

Energy wealth fuels the drive towards a knowledge-based economy ocated on a dry, flat peninsula projecting into the Arabian Gulf, the State of Qatar has a population of less than one million. Measured by income per head, it is one of the richest countries on earth.

Ruled since the mid-19th century by the Al-Thani family, the independent State of Qatar owes its wealth to the vast reserves of oil and gas that lie beneath its desert sands and the waters of the Gulf. The reigning emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has a very clear vision of his country’s future. And, thanks to high global energy prices, his oil-and-gas-rich country has the financial resources to start turning that vision into reality.

Massive economic and social development is underway in a drive to diversify and transform 21st century Qatar into a knowledge-based economy. The State of Qatar’s hydrocarbon wealth is being used to build innovative education institutions, stateof-the-art health facilities and tourism infrastructure.

Billions of dollars are being poured into massive infrastructure projects— city enclaves focused on education, energy, healthcare, science and technology, a new airport for the capital city, Doha, and a causeway linking Qatar with Bahain.

New stadiums, roads and hospitals are being built, and hugely ambitious real estate developments are taking shape, such as the Pearl-Qatar, a manmade island that will provide luxury waterside living to 40,000 inhabitants, or the massive Lusail project, which will accommodate 200,000 people. Demand for residential accommodation, retail space and commercial property is outpacing supply.

Qatar produces 800,000 barrels of oil per day and possesses the third largest natural gas reserves in the world. The economy is booming, increasing by an annual average of 15 percent. Per capita GDP is more than $72,634, according to the IMF. That compares with $46,000 in the United States, or $20,700 in its immediate neighbor, Saudi Arabia. By 2013, the size of the economy is projected to reach $100 billion.

As a member of the World Trade Organization since 1996, Qatar has liberalized its trade and investment climate. Tariffs and restrictions, as well as barriers to trade have been reduced, and opportunities for foreign investment increased; up to 100 per-

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Gas set to overtake oil as main contributor to GDP W

The emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani cent of foreign ownership is permit- Qatar and work together to develop ted in some sectors. Over the next six and commercialize their technology. years, an estimated $142 billion will At the same time, steps are being be spent on projects aimed at diver- taken to develop national potential sifying the economy. Non-hydrocar- by enhancing the education and well bon sectors that the State of Qatar is being of Qatari citizens, and the deeager to develop include manufac- velopment of a highly skilled workturing, trade, transport, financial ser- force. vices and tourism.

The education system is being deScience and technology are regarded centralized and upgraded, and top as key drivers of future prosperity. U.S. universities have been brought Research is to serve as a catThe economy in to produce top-notch alyst for expansion and digraduates. Meanwhile, versification. The emir has is booming and splendid new medical fahas been pledged to invest 2.8 percilities are being opened projected to that, in addition to procent of Qatar’s GDP in research and development reach US$100 viding top-class healthcare, (R&D), comparing favorably billion by 2013 are intended to put Qatar with 2.6 percent in the Unitat the cutting edge of meded States. ical research.

Spearheading the drive to create a As if all that were not enough, the knowledge-based economy is the State of Qatar is raising its internaQatar Foundation for Education, Sci- tional profile through the medium of ence and Community Development, sport, emerging as a venue for a vaa non-profit private institution es- riety of world-class sporting events. tablished by the emir in 1995. Under Having already successfully staged the foundation’s umbrella, state-of- the 2006 Asian Games, the world’s the-art facilities have been built to second largest sports tournament, it encourage academic institutions, com- is now a serious contender to host the panies and entrepreneurs to come to 2016 Olympic Games.

hile the Qatari government is keenly aware of the need to strengthen its economy by diversifying from oil and gas extraction, the sector is currently still responsible for 85 percent of export earnings, and will remain of paramount importance to the country for the foreseeable future.

It is true that Qatar is a relatively small player in oil production—its proven oil reserves of 15 billion barrels are dwarfed by Saudi Arabia’s 260 billion barrels and are less than half those of Nigeria—but the discovery of the world's largest non-associated offshore gas field in its territory has propelled it to third place in terms of global natural gas reserves.

This has thrust the State of Qatar into the international spotlight, and a flurry of deals have been signed in the past year or so to exploit its renewed energy-rich status. The result should be for gas to overtake crude oil as the main contributor to Qatar’s GDP by 2010.

Projects include the Qatar Petroleum/ConocoPhillips joint-venture QatarGas III, which will start producing gas for the U.S. market from 2010, and QatarGas IV, a joint project between Royal Dutch/Shell and state-owned oil giant Qatar Petroleum, which will come on stream a year later, with production aimed at both North America and Europe.

The crucial importance of oil and gas to the economy is re-

flected in the immense services infrastructure investment being made for the sector. Most notable is the construction of Energy City— a $3.5 billion development in the giant Lusail real estate investment project located north of Doha that is pitched to be a single hub for the energy business in the Middle East.

The developers of Energy City have gone to great lengths to attract key energy players. Its freetrade zone status will allow companies to sidestep the normal conditions of Qatar sponsorship and enjoy full autonomy, while hightech infrastructure, such as an electronic energy-trading platform, promises to cut costs and improve efficiencies. “It’s likely that this form of trading will, within the next few years, become the fourth ‘super-asset’ class for global investors, alongside conventional debt, equity and foreign exchange,” says Energy City CEO Hesham AbdulRahman Al-Emadi.

In addition, Energy City’s sophisticated IT infrastructure—which has been supplied by contractors including Cisco Systems and Microsoft—will allow full control of every building and will link workplaces to homes and data centres.

“The hydrocarbon industries use IT extensively, for instance in visualisations, so this high-end technology will have value immediately,” adds Mr. Al-Emadi.

Qatar Petroleum(QP) is an early

Continued on page 6

The oil and gas sector accounts for 85 percent of export earnings.

A letter from the Chairman of the AMEEAC International forum brings together American and Middle Eastern leaders to build business relations in a variety of industries e thank you for attending the 3rd biennial U.S.-Arab Economic Forum, May 7-9 in Washington D.C. We hope that you will take part in the USAEF and that you will engage with your colleagues from around the world to address political, economic and social issues related to both the U.S. and the Arab world. It is a critical time in history and it is necessary for us to forge long-lasting bonds which positively impact the Western

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world and the Arab world together.

Building on the success of previous Forums, the USAEF will again unite over 1,000 high level corporate leaders, heads of state, ministers, academicians, politicians, policy makers, and concerned citizens from the United States and the Arab World. We will discuss opportunities in industries ranging from: energy, financial services and healthcare, to information technology, trade and tourism. Our hope is to find solutions to some of the region’s most concerning and pressing issues, while enhancing the role of women, improving the access to education and building regional peace.

The U.S.-Arab Economic Forum, sponsored by The American Middle

Ahmad Chebbani Chairman and CEO of AMEEAC East Economic Affairs Committee (AMEEAC) is dedicated to engaging public and private partnerships

between the U.S. and Arab World, to stimulate and promote sustainable economic growth, while fostering the emergence of knowledge-based societies. Through initiatives such as the U.S. Arab Economic Forum, AMEEAC provides one of the world’s premier platforms for partners and participants to highlight their commitment and vision of a strengthened civil society and improved economic environment between the U.S. and the Arab World.

Focusing on business and economics builds mutually beneficial partnerships to promote economic growth and integration, free trade, entrepreneurship, public/private partnerships and a modern,

THIS REPORT IS PRODUCED BY SUMMIT COMMUNICATIONS

innovative and more competitive Middle-Eastern society. We at the USAEF will provide each participant the opportunity to network with global colleagues and attend thought-provoking lectures and discussions of today’s business economy. We hope you will take maximum advantage of the USAEF. To date, there have been over 430 corporate leaders present, 170 government officials, 30 ministers, 90 speakers, and over 120 organizations from 35 countries at each Forum. In addition, the USAEF will reach approximately 50 million people worldwide through global media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, FOX, Al-Jazeera, BBC, LBC, and Al Arabiya.

We thank you for being with us in

Washington, D.C. Lasting partnerships will be forged here and it is these relationships that will propel the exchange of ideas and bolster commercial development.

What we do today will make all the difference in the world tomorrow.

We invite you to visit our website at http://usaef.ameeac.org for additional event information.

Regards,

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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SPECIAL REPORT

Qatar

Qatar Foundation. Developing potential through education, science and health initiatives

Empowering future generations Far more than a figurehead, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned takes an active role in building a better society and has inspired a generation of Qatari men and women hange is thought to come slowly in Arab societies, but powerful women are starting to emerge and to play an active role in promoting social and economic development. One of the most prominent is Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser AlMissned, ranked by Forbes magazine the 79th most powerful woman in the world, and second in the Arab World.

Sheikha Mozah’s vision for the future of Qatar parallels that of the emir, her husband. Education, scientific advance and healthcare are her prime concerns, and in particular the future of young people. With her high profile, she is becoming an increasingly influential figure not just in Qatar, but also in the wider Gulf region and internationally.

In the State of Qatar, she is a driving force for change. As chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the private, non-profit organization behind major initiatives currently under way in the State of Qatar, she has overseen the realization

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of major pilot projects, such as Education City and Qatar Science and Technology Park (see articles below and on page 3).

She also serves as Vice-President of the Supreme Education Council, where she is directly involved in setting national policies, and has been the driving force behind reforms aimed at improving learning and school performance at elementary, middle, and high school level. As President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, she is in a position to promote education for children with special needs, learning for the disabled and training for the underprivileged.

Sheikha Mozah says, “The accent of the Qatar Foundation and the country’s education sector as a whole is to provide quality education by adopting an excellent syllabus and by giving teachers the best training.” The sharing of knowledge, ideas and values is the noblest way to transcend barriers, she adds.

Far more than a mere figurehead, Qatar’s First Lady initiates ideas and gets involved in the detailed research and

Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned planning required to implement them.

And she maintains a continuing interest in projects post launch, paying regular visits to monitor and promote

progress, and acting as a vital link between initiatives.

She is increasingly active internationally. Appointed UNESCO Special

Envoy for Basic and Higher Education in 2003, she promotes international projects to improve the quality and accessibility of education worldwide.

Four years ago, she established the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq, dedicated to the reconstruction of institutions of advanced learning in Iraq. Last year, with a US$10 million endowment from the emir, she established the Arab Foundation for Democracy in Doha, which is mandated to promote democracy and equal opportunity throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Last year, she toured the U.S. giving speeches on Western misconceptions of Muslim women and the need to combat violence by eradicating poverty and hopelessness. In October last year, she was awarded the prestigious Chatham House Prize by the Duke of York in a ceremony held at the Drapers’ Hall in London. The award is made annually to a leading international statesperson for the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations. Sheikha Mozah was chosen for her commitment to progressive education and community welfare in Qatar and her strong advocacy of closer relations between Islamic countries and the West.

At the first Alliance of Civilization Forum held in Madrid in January, she announced a new global initiative to address the need to create new jobs

and opportunities for young people— starting in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where rates of youth unemployment and under-employment are at their highest.

The aim of the Silatech initiative— the word translates from Arabic as “Your Connection”—is to support a unique and comprehensive strategy that includes providing links to jobs and placements, a call center, marketrelated training, access to business development services and capital for aspiring entrepreneurs, and employment attachments such as internships and apprenticeships.

A wide range of partners will be involved, ranging from governments, regional and international organizations, donors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to employers’ associations, trade unions, small and medium-sized businesses, and commercial banks. A sum of US$100 million has been donated by the emir and Sheikha Mozah as an endowment to support the initiative.

Sheikha Mozah said the initiative was aimed at “connecting young people to each other, to capital, to industry, to opportunity.” She told the conference, “By investing in our youth, we are investing in the security of our nations, and only secure and confident nations can build alliances based on mutual respect and common objectives.”

Education. Emphasis on quality and innovation

Health. Development boom

Education City opens doors to a world of learning

Building a regional center of excellence

A community of elite international campuses will set new standards, extending knowledge across the region and the globe

The new three-in-one Hamad Medical City will combine high-quality healthcare, education and research

atar realized early on that if it was to provide high quality education and research, it could not do so alone. Alliances and partnerships with elite international institutions would need to play a key role.

The purpose of building the 2,500-acre campus of state-of-the-art facilities on the outskirts of Doha that is Education City was to attract some of the world’s leading academic institutions to set up shop there— to create a kind of Ivy League of the Middle East. And it has succeeded. Education City is home to a growing community of educational and research institutions, including the largest cluster of American universities outside the United States.

Already established are outposts of Weill Cornell Medical College, Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas A&M University and Georgetown University. As close collaboration with industry is a key aim, the site is also the location of the new Qatar Science and Technology Park.

“No sustained change can be achieved without the empowerment of education and research. This is why the Education City project was started,” says Dr. Mohamed Fathy Saoud, Qatar Foundation’s President.

“We wanted to use the best practices and features of what is happening in education across the world.”

Education City will be a multi-campus city that builds synergies and partnerships in a variety of areas, he adds. “We are encouraging universities to work together. All our partner universities are identified in the U.S. as research universities. We are ready to host interactions that have never been known in this region, and which are unknown even in the host countries.”

A high level of reassurance and long-term commitment has been provided to get some of the world’s leading universities to open campuses on the site. Says Dr. Saoud, “We have made them feel confident that their full autonomy and governance of their programs, and their independent decisions related to admissions, faculty and staff recruitment can never be undermined.”

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Education City will serve as a benchmark for quality across the sector.

Carnegie Mellon University opened its campus in Education City in 2004, teaching computer science and business. Chuck Torpe, the Dean, says, “There is a very strong sense that you can get an education here that you can’t get anywhere else in the world. We’ve opened up all our courses for cross-registration, so a student can come here and major in computer science from CMU, the world’s number one ranked computer science school, and go downstairs and listen to a distinguished lecturer on foreign affairs from Georgetown, go over to VCU and take a course in jewelry making and go play soccer with their buddies at Texas A&M. So this is a chance to mix together high-ranked majors and programs from highly ranked universities around the world, and that’s a wonderful opportunity.”

At Virginia Commonwealth University campus, where art and design are taught, Dean Allyson Vanstone says, “Students in Doha have to compete to get in just as in Richmond; so when they graduate they are very proud.”

At Weill Cornell Medical College, Dean

Daniel Alonso says, “We have student exchanges. In NYC, our third year students do full time at the hospital. Here in Doha we have an agreement with Hamad Corporation and some are selected to go to NYC. In March this year, main campus students are coming to Doha.”

As a relatively small number of students will be able to study at Education City, it is seen as essential that the high standards there have a knock-on effect in order to provide critical mass. Using the universities of Education City as a benchmark, moves have been made to raise standards at Qatar University and to engender an atmosphere of positive competition.

Since she became President of the university in 2003, Sheikha Abdullah Al-Misnad has undertaken a root and branch program of reform. She says, “We are expanding and accepting more applications every year. The opportunities for higher education are on the rise. It is still a manageable increase because this number is being distributed among all of the other universities and colleges, namely the Educational City and the region.”

nder construction in Doha at what used to be the athletes’ village during the 2006 Asian Games is one of the largest healthcare developments in the Middle East.

Scheduled to open within the next two years, the US$1.5 billion Hamad Medical City is intended to become a regional leader in all aspects of medical care.

The city will house three specialized hospitals—a 320-bed children’s hospital, a 220bed center for bone diseases and a 350-bed center for medical rehabilitation—together with therapeutic facilities, residential buildings for medical staff and the offices of the National Health Authority.

Masterminding the scheme is Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the state health care provider, which is undertaking a major expansion of the State of Qatar’s health service infrastructure. “The vision of His Highness and Her Highness for healthcare in Qatar is extremely ambitious,” says Hanan Al Kuwari, HMC Managing Director. “They would like it to be the best in the region, and on a par with the best in the world.”

Demand for healthcare has increased highly in Qatar and the Gulf region over the last couple of decades. The building of Hamad Medical City is part of a drive to develop Qatar’s healthcare infrastructure, integrate treatment and research, and provide training for health sector workers so that the State of Qatar is less reliant on imported foreign staff.

Other major developments include the new Sidra Medical and Research Center, scheduled for 2010, and local hospitals at Dukhan and Al-Wakrah. Due to open later this year is HMC’s new $33 million 100-bed heart hospital within the Rumailah Hospital complex. Total hospital capacity is expected to double over the next five years.

HMC operates a network of hospitals providing free services to Qatari citizens, including the largest hospital in the State of Qatar, Hamad General, Rumailah Hospital,

the Women’s Hospital and the Psychiatric Hospital, as well as the primary health care centers. The global standards achieved at HMC institutions were acknowledged last year, when the corporation gained accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI), the international body that assesses medical centers across the world.

Latifa Al Houty, Chairperson of HMC’s Board of Directors says, “We have always operated with the aim of being an internationally recognized medical center of excellence, particularly in an age when medical care is no longer limited by geography.”

Partnerships with some of the world’s leading medical institutions and specialists enables HMC to offer specialized services, such as radiation oncology for cancer, neonatal metabolic screening and bone marrow transplants.

HMC has close ties with Weill Cornell Medical College, its main educational partner, and with Canada’s Calgary University and the College of North Atlantic, all of which have campuses in the State of Qatar.

The new pediatric hospital at Hamad Medical City will be operated in conjunction with the Hospital for Sick Children of Toronto.

The University of Pittsburgh provides education, training and services to Qatar’s emergency medical system, and recently announced with HMC the creation of a trauma service at Hamad General Hospital modeled after the most sophisticated trauma centers in the United States. A bone marrow transplant service is being developed in collaboration with Germany’s University Clinics of Heidelberg (UCH), which also collaborates with HMC on screening for early detection of disorders in newborns.

“We are only the fourth country in the world to have established universal screening for newborns,” says Dr. Hanan. “Every baby that is born is screened for metabolic disorders and other types of diseases.”

Reforms will drive up standards in schools n recent years, the Qatari education system has been undergoing a process of reform.

Starting with primary and secondary education, K-12, the aim is to improve quality, encourage critical thinking among students and build a knowledge economy.

A centralized system of education is being replaced with one where each school has its own independence, budget and authority under a national curriculum standard. Within the next few years, the Ministry of Education is expected to be phased out.

Large numbers of new independent schools are being established by the Supreme Education Council. Fifteen are due

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to open in the current education year, bringing the total of independent schools to 87, and more are planned to follow. New kindergartens are being opened at primary schools. An evaluation system will ensure that schools are reaching their targets.

The institutions in Education City, such as the international private Qatar Academy, will set a gold standard for the rest of the sector to follow, providing world-class educational facilities from kindergarten through junior and secondary levels to graduate and post-graduate studies and research programs.

Sheikha Abdullah Al-Misnad, President

of Qatar University, says the new education model is designed to create a generation of problem-solvers who are skilled at facing the new economic realities.

The emphasis now is on encouraging innovation and parental involvement, on building skills, critical thinking, team working and self-assertiveness alongside basic skills such as mathematics and science.

“There is an Arab culture of not asking questions and we must begin by training a generation to ask questions, analyze and express themselves. Democracy is not just about parliaments and protests, but how we think as individuals,” she says.

Hamad Medical City will house three new specialized hospitals.

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT

Qatar

The Camelot of the Arab World The Managing Director of one of the State of Qatar’s best private hospitals tells how his institution shares the emir’s vision of regional excellence

Making waves The distinctive undulating shape of the canopy at the entrance to the emerging technology center, QSTP’s incubator for start-up technology businesses.

Science & technology. On the cutting edge

Al-Ahli Hospital where treatment is combined with five-star comfort. ith its spacious atrium, palatial interior and five-star comforts the Al-Ahli Hospital, Qatar’s first major private hospital, is more like a hotel than most people’s idea of a medical center. Patient-centered care is the mantra here, but as Abdulwahed Al-Mawlawi explains, “We don’t call our visitors patients, we call them guests.”

Mr. Al-Mawlawi, who is the Managing Director of both the hospital and its parent company, Medicare Group, admires and shares the emir’s vision for a brighter Qatar through advances in health and education. “We have a leader who is thinking laterally and going for quality socio-economic development,” he says. “He is pointing the way for Qatar to become the Camelot of the Arab world.”

As Mr. Al-Mawlawi sees it, the AlAhli Hospital contributes to the emir’s vision by providing services that are second to none. He says he wants the hospital to become the Camelot of healthcare.“My vision is for it to be the best-run hospital in the Gulf area within the next 3-5 years.”

Providing a wide range of medical and surgical services, the 250-bed hospital, which opened in 2004, is one of the largest private medical centers in the Gulf. The complex consists of three buildings: the main hospital building that supports all in-patient and outpatient activities, another building housing administration, ophthalmology, and an ear, nose and throat center, and a nurses' residence.

Since Mr. Al-Mawlawi took up his post in 2006, he has pushed for more staff. The number of nurses has increased from 35 to 210, while the number of doctors has risen from 14 to 75; all the doctors are Western qualified and almost 90 percent are at consultant level. The number of departments is also growing, together with clinical support services and administrative support services.

Mr. Al-Mawlawi emphasizes that good doctors and nurses are not enough to make a great hospital.

“Obviously, we have to take care of the clinical aspects, but what is important is the underlying core philosophy,” he says. Ultimately, he would like to see the Al-Ahli become a teaching hospital.

Since he returned to the State of Qatar from Dubai, Mr. Al-Mawlawi has noticed a fundamental change in the approach to medical services. “There has been a paradigm shift,” he says.

“Everyone is moving towards excellence and the best services. The aim is to serve the people who live in Qatar by providing the highest levels of health care.”

Recognition of the progress made by the Al-Ahli itself came recently when the hospital was presented with the International Gold Star award for Quality in Geneva by the international organization Business Initiative Decisions.

Mr. Al-Mawlawi’s ambitions for the hospital extend beyond the borders of the State of Qatar. The aim is to become a regional center of excellence, delivering the best care in the best environment. “If you want to be a top hospital, it is not enough to serve a million and a half residents in Qatar.

One has to think regional and then global.” The establishment of relationships with medical centers in other countries is already being explored.

“We are concentrating on the hospital strategically because it is at present the core of Medicare Group, but Medicare has many other plans for the future,” adds Mr. Al-Mawlawi.

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New Qatari technology park seeks to become the laboratory of the Gulf Becoming operational this year, the Qatar Science and Technology Park will advance development of a knowledge economy, and offer local and international companies an ideal environment for research, innovation and entrepreneurship rchitecturally distinctive, with an undulating canopy that traverses the site, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) is intended to produce waves of technological development and enterprise that ripple through the national economy.

Established as part of Qatar Foundation, the park has been designed as a home for international technology companies and an incu-

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bator of start-up technology businesses. Located at Doha’s Education City, with easy access to leading academic research institutions, and declared a free trade zone—one of the State of Qatar’s first—QSTP offers an ideal environment for companies to develop and commercialize their technology.

The research that takes place there will be focused on areas of key importance to the economy, such as gas and petrochemicals, health-

Center to support multiple disciplines

Sidar Medical and Research Center will be a flagship for the health sector. ue to open on the Education City cam- from around the world. The technology and pus towards the end of 2010, the brand equipment at the all-digital facility will be new Sidra Medical and Research Center has state-of-the-art. been designed by the world-renowned firm of Location within Qatar’s Education City Pelli Clarke Pelli as an architectural landmark, will give Sidra proximity to a range of presa strikingly modern combination of steel, tigious medical teaching and research instiglass and white ceramic tile. tutions, as well as to Qatar Science and TechNatural light will flood through three tow- nology Park. Sidra will be affiliated with Weill ering atriums, and, when not in their spa- Cornell Medical College, which has a branch cious and comfortable rooms, patients will be campus there, and will be responsible for the able to get some air in indoor “healing gar- clinical teaching. The college, which has aldens”. A comprehensive art collection will ready started training students in Education adorn the walls.

City, will be closely involved in the research But there will be much more to Sidra than at the center. Sidra will also work on research a unique and beautiful building. The hugely programs with Hamad Medical Corporation, ambitious project–launched in 2004 with a Qatar’s chief healthcare provider. mega US$7.9 billion endowment from the Care will be taken to complement services Qatar Foundation—is intended as a flagship at other hospitals, although there will be for the State of Qatar’s health sector. some overlap. Sidra aims to handle half the Based on the North American model, it will births in the country, for example. be the first academic, medical and research Healthcare will be provided for people from center in the region. In addition to providing neighboring countries, as well as Qataris. “It the highest international standards of health- was always envisaged that Sidra would be escare both for Qataris and for people from the tablished for the benefit of the whole region,” region, it will build scientific expertise in areas says Mr. Bergin. Indeed, he explains, the hossuch as stem cells and genomics. Within five pital will need to have referrals from outside years it is expected to be competing with the Qatar’s borders so that it receives enough pabest research centers in the world. tients to justify providing high-end complex Daniel Bergin, Executive Project Director of services, such as organ transplants. “We will Sidra Medical and Research Center, describes need those patient volumes to ensure we have the facility as “an integrated mix of research, a comprehensive quality service.” top-quality medical education and top quality clinical care together”. He says, “We will be a strong research-based organization. This is what will make us different from most other hospitals in the region, in that we will have a process of continuous improvement that is strongly backed by research programs which will ultimately improve the clinical outcomes for the people in our care.”

Housed within the remarkable building will be hospital sections for mixed adults, women and children, and a biomedical research center. The initial 380 beds will later be increased to 550 beds. The 2,000 staff A bedroom in the new Sidra Medical and will include top physicians and scientists Research Center.

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care, information and communication technoloSuccess will depend on QSTP attracting furgies, water technologies, the environment and ther companies to lease facilities or commission aircraft operations. their own buildings there. Dr. Maini says this will Some $300 million has been spent on the first require more than incentives and infrastructure, phase, which comes into operation this year, and but believes Qatar’s clear vision of what it wants which includes an emerging technology center to to achieve gives it an advantage over similar profoster small firms and start-ups, and two inno- jects elsewhere. “We have a very clearly articulatvation and technology transfer centers, designed ed strategy, stating the things that we want to to accommodate medium and large companies. do,” he says.

Next year will see the establishment of a nationResearch is key to advance in all three prime al data center, the first of its kind outside the Unit- areas of importance to the future of Qatar and ed States. the building of a knowledge-based economy. In QSTP’s world-class, purpose-built offices and the field of energy, focus will be on oil and gas laboratories are in close proximity to the region’s technologies and the development of renewable leading universities, including the campuses of ma- sources of energy such as solar power. Qatar Pejor international institutions such as troleum (QP), the national oil and gas Research will corporation, is establishing a research Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M be focused University and Weill Cornell Medical centre at QSTP later this year. Initialon areas that ly, it will address upstream oil and gas College. are of key Intended to become an internationoperations, carbonate reservoir research al hub for cutting edge technological importance to and the environment. development, QSTP aims to attract inIn the environmental field, chalthe economy ternational research and development lenges that will be addressed at QSTP companies, and to promote exchanges of infor- will include CO2 emissions and desalination. In mation to boost local and regional healthcare the area of health, there is particular interest in technology, life sciences and research and devel- generating research and technology to combat opment. prevalent regional diseases such as diabetes, carThe 300-acre free zone is open to 100 percent diovascular problems, high blood pressure and foreign-owned companies, who are able to op- genetic blood disorders. erate on the site without paying tax or duties. AlIn January, the Scientific Medical Applied Reready signed as tenants are EADS, ExxonMobil, search and Development Company (Smard) anGE, Microsoft, Rolls-Royce, Shell and Total, all of nounced its launch at QSTP as Qatar’s first which have been committed to the project from biotechnology and medical research company. its inception.

Smard will be investing several million dollars “The science park has achieved much over the in developing diagnostic tools and treatments past few years, growing from just an idea into a for diseases. Also due to open this year is a rofirst-class facility with commitment from some of botic surgery training center, set up with Imthe world’s top companies,” says QSTP Chairman perial College, London, which will demonstrate Tidu Maini. “Now, we face a fresh set of chal- limited-invasive surgical techniques. lenges: connecting QSTP with the global science “We are pushing the frontiers and encourcommunity, ramping up corporate research pro- aging people to work in those areas by projects and growing local technology enterprises. We viding adequate funding and setting up the are proud of the opportunity to contribute to Qatar’s best facilities in the world,” says Dr. Maini. vision for a knowledge economy. And with the “We are creating a bio bank and a genomics ongoing support of our partners and colleagues, institute. We will also be providing for the we are confident of success.” study of proteins.”

Cisco emerges as key IT partner ne of the unique characteristics of QSTP is Being located in QSTP will enable Cisco to that it will allow companies who would not share its knowledge and expertise, and work normally collaborate to work together to solve with local partners and customers to introduce problems. Collaboration is the theme of all in- connected education, connected healthcare, novation, says QSTP Chairman Tidu Maini, who connected tourism and real estate industry sosees one of the science park’s most recent ar- lutions throughout the State of Qatar. rivals, global networking giant Cisco, as play“We are going to have a significant coning a key role. sulting and services division to bring intel“QSTP plans to see it’s IT, energy and uni- lectual capital to clients, a training venue and versity partners working together, rather than we are going to build an entrepreneur insticompeting while under its roof,” he says. “And tute,” says Wayne Hull, Cisco’s South Gulf we want Cisco to provide them with the op- Country Manager. portunities to know what the other is doing and According to Mr. Hull, it was the State of to get to know each other.”

Qatar’s focus on becoming a knowledgedIn 2006, Cisco signed its largest ever consul- based society and an ICT world leader that attancy deal when it agreed to design advanced tracted Cisco to set up operations in Qatar. “We technology solutions to create the infrastruc- started to notice a couple of very unique things ture required to support Energy City Qatar, the about this country,” he says. “The first was that State of Qatar’s regional energy hub. its size is very tight geographically In January, the company announced Cisco will invest and the other was that the vision of that over the next three years it plans US$40 million in the leaders, particularly the emir and to invest $40 million in a research and a research and Her Highness, was very focused technology center on QSTP. around the knowledge-based socitechnology Cisco will work with the Qatar Foun- center over the ety and on becoming an ICT leader dation on a series of projects to build next three years in the world. We found a direct link the State of Qatar’s knowledge-based between what Qatar is trying to do economy. These will include Project iQ, a techo- and what Cisco is all about.” logical initiative that will allow the Foundation Qatar has always been a key market for Cisto engage in global collaboration on research, co and it customers there have deployed some education, health and youth employment. of the most advanced network environments The networking giant is already one of the in the region, adds Mr. Hull. first global strategic technology providers for "We see a massive opportunity for growth the Youth Employment Initiative, Silitech, and Cisco is investing heavily in terms of rethat was recently announced by HH Sheikha sources to provide strategic consultancy, diMozah. It has also established two Network- rect support and smart business solutions to ing Academies in Doha to developing the ICT public and private establishments operating skills of Qatari youth. in Qatar.”

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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SPECIAL REPORT

Qatar

Sports. Already a top sporting destination, Doha is competing to host the Olympics

Doha: bidding for sporting glory Qatar has committed itself to becoming a worldclass sporting venue. As preparations are already under way to host the 2016 Olympic Games,the dream could soon become reality Doha has also been chosen as the venue for the 2011 Indoor Asian Games and to host the 2011Asia Cup soccer tournament.

Doha spent $2.8 billion on the 2006 Asian Games, providing a sports infrastructure capable of staging almost any international event. As a result, it has been left with a legacy of state-of-the-art sporting venues. eijing in 2008. London in Its Sports City complex, distinguished 2012. Doha in 2016? If the by Qatar’s tallest building, the Aspire International Olympic Tower, includes the Khalifa InternaCommittee (IOC) were to tional Stadium, with seating for choose Qatar to host the 50,000 spectators, the Aspire AcadGames of the XXXI Olympiad, it would emy (see article, below) and the set the seal on the emir’s strategy to Hamad Aquatic Center. “Our stadipush the State of Qatar to the fore- ums are among the best in the world— front of the sporting world. two of them ranked among the top The capital of the tiny Arab state is three in a global contest organized by one of seven cities bidding to stage the International Association for Sports the Games, and finds itself up against Leisure Facilities, sponsored by the some formidable opposition candi- IOC,” says Mr. Hassan. dates: Chicago (U.S.), Prague (Czech If the Games were to come to the Republic), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro city, they would be held mostly in ex(Brazil), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Madrid isting venues. However, as part of its (Spain). The first hurdle comes in June bid, Doha proposes to build the world’s when a shortlist will be issued, with most advanced paralympic sport stathe final selection being made by the dium. A velodrome (for cycling) and a full IOC membership in Copenhagen, stadium for baseball will be built, and Denmark, in October 2009. the capacity of the Khalifa Stadium inQatar's heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim creased to 60,000. A new 12,000-seat bin Hamad Al Thani, officially launched center court will be created for the Khalthe bid for the 2016 Olympic and Par- ifa Tennis Center, and other venues will alympic Games in a spectacular cer- also be upgraded. A 67-hectare emony on Doha Corniche street last Olympic Village is to be built, formed October. in the shape of a dove, and capable Leading the bid is businessman Has- of housing 18,000 people. Work on san Ali Bin Ali, supported by a team of these schemes will go ahead regardinternational consultants. less of whether Doha is The capital has awarded the Games.

He believes there is every chance of success, not least demonstrated Indeed, construction has its ability to because it would bring the already started on work on stage major Olympic flame to the Arab an all-weather underground speaking world for the first events, including stadium—the world’s first— time. “We are confident that the 2006 Asian which will be used for we can present the grandmatches during the 2011 Games est Olympic Games till now,” Asian Cup soccer tournahe says. “Awarding the Games to Do- ment. The cost is put at more than ha could, through sport, create hope, US$20 million. understanding and produce a change The bid organizers say a Doha that would unite the entire region with Olympics would be highly compact, the rest of the world.” and carbon neutral. The Games would Doha has already demonstrated its be held in the second half of October ability to host big-ticket sporting 2016, when temperatures and humidevents with its staging of the highly ity are lower, and before the high tourist successful 2006 Asian Games, the sec- season when hotels would be better able ond largest multi-sport event in the to cope with the influx of spectators. world. The Games were described by Qatar is already firmly established some commentators as the best ever. on the international sporting map as

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The Khalifa International Stadim was the main venue for the 2006 Asian Games and Qatari officials hope it will host the 2016 Olympic Games. the venue for a wide-ranging selection of world-class events, from golf, tennis, fencing and equestrianism to motorcycle and powerboat racing.

Now in its 11th year, the Commercialbank Qatar Masters Golf Tournament is part of the European PGA Tour, attracting some of the world’s leading players and some 20,000 spectators. The spectacular course, set against a desert backdrop, is one of the longest on the tour. Australian Adam Scott, who won the event in January, walked away with a cool $450,000 of this year’s record $2.5 million prize money.

The Khalifa Tennis Complex is the venue for the ATP and WTA tour event, also held in January. British tennis star Andy Murray triumphed in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open this year, while Maria Sharapova won the Qatar Total Open.

Previous winners have included Roger Federer, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg in the men’s competition, and Justine Henin, Monica Selles and Amelie Maresmo in the women’s contest.

International motorcycle racing is in its fifth year in Qatar. The Commercialbank Grand Prix, held in March on Qatar’s 5.3 kilometer Losail Inter-

Coming up fast to lead the field High profile, high prize competitions are putting Qatar in the spotlight as the host and sponsor of world-class equestrian events hen the 8-year-old racing stallion Dahess was put up for auction at the Arqana Arab Sale in France last September, the result was a runaway winner for the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

The champion horse, owned by the Sheikh, sold for the equivalent in euros of a record $1.4 million.

The Gulf region has a strong tradition of equestrianism and Arabian horses are, of course, famous all over the world for their strength and beauty. Qatar is a major center of international Arabian breeding, so it comes as no great surprise to find that the ruling family are passionate about horses. The emir himself owns the Al Shaqab Stable, which is home to some of the finest Arabian horses in the world, while Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Khalifa Al-Thani owns the premier Umm Qarn and Al Rayyan stud farms, and combines his prime ministerial duties with being president of Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club.

In addition to national and regional equestrian events, Qatar hosts a number of important international competitions, including contests sponsored by the Federation Equestre International (FEI), the worldwide governing body for equestrian sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Doha even held one of the Olympic qualifying events for Beijing 2008. The State of Qatar is also putting itself in the spotlight by sponsoring premier racing events in Europe.

Already recognized for the quality of its Arabian horseracing, Qatar is implementing an ambitious development for thoroughbred racing.

New equestrian venues are being built to host large-scale events and encourage local talent.

The biggest events of the equestrian year are hosted by the Qatar Racing and Eques-

A passion for horses is shared by the royal family, which owns several stud farms. trian Club (QREC), which has successfully popularized and raised the quality of racing and equestrian events. The Qatar International Equestrian Festival, which is staged annually by the QREC, under the patronage of the emir, has grown in size and prestige over the years and attracts spectators and trainers from all over the world. More than 150 horses were on show at the three-day event in February.

The emir´s Trophies and Sword Festival, held in the last week of March every year, is a showcase for the best thoroughbreds and pure Arabian horses from the leading stud farms in Qatar and the UAE. No gambling is allowed, but the emir’s Sword Race is the highest prize money race in the world, with a purse of QR2 million ($550,000).

In February it was announced that Qatar will sponsor the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the highlight of the European equestrian calendar, for five years, starting this year. The partnership between QREC and France Galop will see the prize money doubled to 4 million

euros, ($6.3 million), making the Arc the world’s richest race on turf. There will be four races open to Arabian horses, including the 350,000 euro ($550,000) Qatar Arabian World Cup, which will be the richest Arabian race in the world.

“This partnership provides us with an opportunity to associate the most prestigious race in the world with Qatar, which is the most dynamic country in the Gulf for sport competitions,” says Sami Jassim Al-Boenain, QREC’s General Manager. Qatar will also be sponsoring a full day’s racing at Lingfield racecourse in the U.K. in August. Last year QREC sponsored a race for Arabian horses in Hamburg.

Meanwhile, QREC is expanding its facilities in Doha. It already has a new racetrack, in use since 2003. Now it is building new stables to cater to the increasing numbers of new owners, and considering building another racetrack.

Says Mr. Al-Boenain, “We are looking at promoting more races for thoroughbreds, as well as for Arabian horses.”

and Fernando Alonso, to race on.

In March, Doha hosted the Gymnastics World Cup Series for the first time, staging the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series at the Aspire Academy. Other sports for which international sporting events are staged in Qatar include table tennis, powerboat racing, fencing and bowling.

Soccer is a growing national passion and Qatar boasts state-of-theart stadiums and training facilities.

National pride surged when the Qatari team won the gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games.

A starting block for a new generation of athletes milestone in Qatar’s evolution into a sporting nation was the opening in 2005 of the visionary Academy for Sports Excellence (Aspire) in Doha. The Aspire stadium in Doha is the largest indoor facility of its kind in the world.

Designed by French architect Roger Taillibert, who built the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada, the state-ofthe-art domed steel structure houses an Olympic-sized swimming pool and diving area, a 200-meter athletics track, a gymnastics hall, a games hall, a fullsized soccer field and a five-a-side pitch, 11 tennis courts, 13 table tennis courts, eight fencing strips, two squash courts and a judo and karate studio.

Built in time to be used as a venue for the 2006 Asian games, its purpose is to serve as an elite institute for the development of sporting excellence.

In a relatively short time, it has become recognized as a world-class sporting academy.

Through its comprehensive sports education program, it offers advanced training in sports ranging from athletics and soccer to sailing, squash and table tennis. The aim is to discover and develop the sporting talent of the future and to instill sport as a way of life for Qataris.

The academy provides a comprehensive learning environment. In addition to the sporting facilities, there are lecture halls, classrooms, science laboratories, dormitories, a library, an amphitheater and a medical center.

“Our vision is to discover the best young sporting talent from the region, and transform them into worldrenowned champions. This will in turn generate a sports culture in Qatar, where each generation of athletes inspires the

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national Circuit, was the opening round of the 2008 FIM World Motorcycle Speedway Grand Prix series.

It was also a landmark event as, in order to suit European television schedules, it was the first to be staged at night, requiring the biggest-ever lighting project for a sporting event.

Inevitably, the next world sporting attraction that Qatar has its eye on is Formula One. Steps are already being taken to massively upgrade the Losail track so that it meets the required standard for the likes of last year’s winners, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton

next,” says Thomas Flock, Aspire’s former Director General.

Aspire conducts an annual search for students with strong athletic potential, visiting schools across the state of Qatar with its Talent Identification Program.

The academy has also opened talent centers run with the cooperation of local schools outside the capital city.

Hazam Anabtawi, Aspire’s Sports Coordinator, says, “Our approach to maximizing the health and fitness of children in Qatar is all-inclusive. By creating talent centers outside of Doha we hope to bring sporting activity to the heart of even more young people’s lives.”

Nor is Aspire’s mission to develop sporting ability limited to Qataris. The academy attracts young athletes from all corners of the world, with scholarships and grants available to athletes in developing countries.

Last year, 430,000 young soccer players competed in seven African countries for a chance to train at the academy.

The ASPIRE Africa Football Dreams project, the world’s largest soccer talent search, which is being repeated this year, is backed by Bonus Sports Marketing and Nike and is supported by the United Nations Office of Sport for Development and Peace.

Aspire helps soccer players succeed.

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT

Qatar

The master plan for Barwa Al Baraha includes lifestyle amenities such as the shopping center pictured above

Barwa Real Estate Company´s

Developing across the board Barwa Real Estate Company’s projects add innovation and quality at both ends of the housing market s one of Qatar’s foremost, innovative real estate conglomerates, the Barwa Real Estate Company is involved in the creation, development and management of major real estate projects and investments both in Qatar and abroad.

On-going developments currently being undertaken by the company include the Al Khor development on

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Qatar’s northeastern coast, the Barwa City residential scheme and the Barwa Financial District, a new regional and financial hub for Doha.

The Al Khor project will comprise 24,000 residential units, 700,000 square meters of commercial and retail complex, civic buildings, public plazas, green space, a beachfront, and extensive high-end hotels.

In addition to high-profile projects such as these, Barwa also provides housing that caters to the needs of low-income earners including public housing and compounds for workers. One of the company’s latest projects is the Al Baraha development in Doha’s industrial area, which will include residences and recreational facilities.

The project, designed to improve living conditions for Qatar’s massive temporary foreign labor force, will include a number of amenities unseen in the so-called “man camps” that dot the Gulf. Used car showrooms, shopping malls, multiplex movie theatres, cricket and soccer fields, medical centers and a mosque have all been incorporated into the master plan.

"Barwa's vision for the manpower of this economy is to construct living quarters which are not only comfortable but also make you feel at home… we genuinely believe that it's the least we can do to help those who are building our nation to rest and relax,” said Barwa Chairman Ghanim Saad Al Saad.

While the developments for the rich are inevitably the most prestigious, the company insists on quality accommodation and facilities at all levels. “By catering to the whole spectrum, we feel we are building for the nation,” says Yousef Alhorr, deputy CEO at Barwa group.

The restructuring of Barwa’s international arm as an independent company has led to a clear development strategy, combining real estate ownership and mega development projects, such as the proposed

$3.88 billion Shard of Glass, one of London’s most high profile schemes, and the Paris Convention Center, which it sold in a reported $710 million deal last year.

The company operates in Eastern as well as Western Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle East.

India is next on its list and it is also looking at China. According to Ghassan Al-Binali, CEO of Barwa International, the company is ‘keeping an eye’ on the U.S., and might consider a project there in two or three years time.

Barwa has been maintianing its international profile by investing in motor sport, sponsoring the Adrian Campos Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Asia Series. “The coverage in the sports media was great,” says Mr. Alhorr. “We have signed a three-year contract in the car racing business.”

Barwa International spreads development expertise oveseas arwa International, the group’s overseas entity, has embarked on a number of headline grabbing projects in Europe and beyond. While glamorous locations like London, Paris and Switzerland garner media attention, smaller, lower-profile projects dot Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and emerging Asia and Africa.

“When we look for a new market, we mainly look for a project that we can really deliver… projects that we can develop on the long-term,” says Ghassan Albinali, Barwa International’s CEO. “We are in the longterm business, which for us means more than five years.”

Barwa International’s reputation as a long-term player in fact spans four decades— enough time for the group to amass over $20 billion in assets both insider and outside Qatar— and the group prides itself on a reputation for excelling in the postdelivery phase.

One recent project of note includes a flagship London property.

Barwa International leads a consortium of backers developing London Bridge Tower, also known as “The Shard of Glass,” a super-tall skyscraper slated to be the tallest high-rise in the European Union and, once completed, the British capital’s most recognizable commercial property. Although no official announcements have been made, the London skyscraper will most likely be the one of many future UK investments.

Barwa’s expansive business model, with roots that spread from Sudan to the Alps, remains part of a broader vision—that of the State of Qatar itself.

In Egypt, Barwa International will build shopping malls and residences as part of the New Cairo City project.

The company has celebrated groundbreakings in Sudan and Algeria. Exploratory meetings have taken place in Montenegro and Bulgaria. The sale

B Barwa AL Doha will cater to high net worth individuals, offering a rage of benefits—from cinemas to immaculate landscaping.

Barwa’s U® Street, designed by Phillipe Starck, represents a new concept in shopping.

A city of the future Luisail. Developer Qatari Diar’s biggest project will be a city in its own right, housing 200,000 people urmoil in the troubled U.S. real estate markets promises a bonanza for one well-capitalized and ambitious development company in Qatar.

Qatari Diar, a government-owned real estate investment company set up in 2004 to coordinate the country’s burgeoning real estate developments, is eyeing opportunities in the U.S. as fallout from the subprime crisis pushes prices down to tempting levels. Already present in 18 countries, the company expects to make its move in the U.S. market within “six to eight months”, according to Chief Financial Officer Patrick Chenel.

Qatari Diar is no stranger to big

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real estate deals in the West. It is already part of a consortium financing the $2.5 billion acquisition of Chelsea Barracks in London, and plans more purchases in the UK as the market drops further. It is also a weighty regional player, spearheading a five-year, $12 billion Qatari push into Syria with a $350 million tourist development on the coast and a $3-4 billion plan for downtown Damascus, the capital.

In the State of Qatar itself, Qatari Diar is behind the giant Lusail project, being constructed just north of Doha. The development will cover an area of 13.5 square miles and, when it is complete, will become a

The Lusail development will comprise 18 different districts.

city in its own right—accommodating up to 200,000 people in a highly planned, multi-zoned area.

Made up of 18 different areas, Lusail will include an entertainment district with themed attractions based on world resorts such as Las Vegas; a natural reserve and parkland, the ultra high-end Lusail Boulevard shopping district; a district devoted to golf, and two separate waterfront districts, split between residential and commercial use. A large blue water lagoon will feature two marinas.

“One of the main goals of government is to establish long-term strategies to help Qatar’s economy to diversify,” notes Sheikh Hamad bin

Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatari Diar’s Chairman.

Nonetheless, the Lusail project must cater for the sector that still provides 60 percent of the nation’s GDP and more than 70 percent of government revenues–oil and gas.

To this end, one of the key districts of the development will be Energy City—a business hub that will cater to the commercial, technical and human resources needs of the oil and gas industry operating in the region. The city’s free-trade zone status will allow companies to sidestep the normal conditions of Qatar sponsorship and enjoy full autonomy, while high-tech infrastructure, such as an electronic energy-trading platform, promises to cut costs and improve efficiencies.

But it is the luxury residential market that will make Lusail a success.

Demand for real estate is such that the marina district—which was put on the market at the same time as the Lusail project was announced— sold out within four days. Better still, the first day of the sale of the development’s Fox Hill district, which is designed to resemble parts of San Francisco, saw $1 billion worth of realty sell out within four hours, with prices for plots ranging from $1.65 million to $6.87 million.

“Fox Hills will compete on a global scale through its commitment to quality delivery of world-class design and best practice professional management that will ensure its value and viability as an investment over the long term,” says Nasser Hassan AlAnsari, Chairman of Qatari Diar Syria. “The scope and mix of Lusail cannot be found anywhere else in Qatar.”

of its Paris Convention Center project netted over $700 million and last year it completed purchase agreements on seven luxury hotels in Belgium and Switzerland.

“I think we are taking measures to promoting the real value of Qatar and the real vision of Qatar as a country,” says Al Binali, adding that wherever Barwa goes, they bring Qatari business values with them. “It’s a vision that looks at peace and growth beyond its borders. We believe in the humanity, growth and development.”

That vision is not limited to the eastern hemisphere. Although the US market sits distant on the horizon, Barwa International remains active in looking for American partners.

“We are keeping an eye on the US and we’ve come up with a new structure in Barwa International,” says Al Binali, referring Barwa Europe and North America, an office the company maintains in London. The coming years could see that office replicated in New York, Washington DC or “any city where we believe that having an office is a must.”

As they sprout from the group’s planning offices around the world, every new project and partnership further validates Brawa International’s fast moving, global growth. It seems fitting then, that the marketing vehicle chosen to represent the Barwa International brand was a racecar. Traveling the Formula One GP2 circuit, the Barwa InternationalCampos racing team has delivered positive results, almost matching the speed of their sponsor.

“The coverage from the international sports media has been great, and the same was achieved here in Qatar. A lot of young guys came here to register for becoming the Qatari drivers. This was very big for us.”

As the racing team circumnavigates the globe, so too does Barwa International’s development potential.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

6

SPECIAL REPORT

Qatar

Doha’s new international airport slated to be a global hub As the number of visitors and travelers continues to rise, the capital city is to get a brand new gateway he past decade has seen tremendous growth in air traffic at Doha International Airport, with a rise from two million to 10 million passengers a year using the overstretched terminal. Despite a recent $240 million refurbishment project and extension to ease overcrowding, travelers can still find some amenities crowded and a limited choice of catering facilities.

The projected growth in the region’s air traffic means that Doha needs a brand new facility with a vastly expanded capacity.

Clearly there is a lot is riding on the New Doha International Airport project, currently under construction a few miles away from the existing site. It will be 12 times the size of the old airport—and a massive two-

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thirds the size of Doha itself—and currently has a total budget estimate of $10 billion.

The first phase, which is due to open in 2010, is designed to handle 24 million passengers a year, as well as 750,000 metric tons of cargo, while planned later expansion should see capacity rise to more than 50 million passengers by 2020. It is also the first airport designed specifically to cater to the giant Airbus A380 passenger plane.

It’s a considerable engineering challenge for U.S. construction giant Bechtel, which won the contract to build the airport, not least because 40 percent of the site will be built on land reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf. Bechtel is no stranger to giant Middle East construction projects—

The first phase of the New Doha International Airport is due to open in 2010. it built Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport and created the 70,000-inhabitant city of Jubail out of a small Gulf fishing village.

Technically, the new terminal will be state-of-the-art. To conserve energy the curtain walls will be coated to reduce solar exposure, the roof

overhang will provide shade and the roof is insulated. The mechanical systems include CO2 sensors to regulate air intake based on occupancy, while the electrical system has daylight monitoring and occupancy sensors.

The external landscaping uses desertadopted species and irrigation water from recycled waste water.

The architectural style at the new Doha airport will also be groundbreaking. At nearly 3.8 million square feet, the main passenger terminal will be the largest building in Qatar and will feature a striking wave-like roof structure.

The terminal will be accessed via roadways through a man-made lagoon that reflects the site’s bay setting, while more water features inside the building, coupled with undulating steel supports, extend the theme. The nautical design extends to the private emiri terminal within

the main complex, whose exterior resembles sailboats. In contrast, the 275 foot high control tower will be crescent-shaped.

The airport’s facilities will also be greatly enhanced. The first phase will have 40 passenger gates, and the airport will have two runways, a maintenance hangar, a cargo center and extensive shopping facilities. The passenger terminal is designed so that all passenger transfers can occur under one roof, with short walking distances between gates and shorter connection times between flights.

The terminal will also have a 100room transit hotel with health and entertainment facilities. Passengers’ spiritual needs will be catered to by a 20,000 square foot airport mosque, located in a garden plaza on the south side of the main passenger terminal.

Gas set to overtake oil as contributor to GDP Continued from page 1

year, with the development of its Train 6 production facility to ramp up supanchor tenant, National Petroleum ply to the U.S. over the next 25 years, Services has purchased a plot to build and in 2009 to Asia with the start-up its new regional headquarters, and of Train 7. negotiations are under way with othUnder the banner ‘The Energy to ers. Completion of the first phase of Transform’, RasGas has committed the development is scheduled for 2009. funds to a wide range of educational, Qatar is also pursuing a policy of medical, cultural and environmental developing global relationships to initiatives, including a long-term partbreak away from simple extraction nership with emergency relief charity and add value to the sector. Qatar Pe- Qatar Red Crescent. troleum has now created an external It is also celebrating a remarkable arm, Qatar Petroleum International, safety record. Its RasGas Alpha rig was whose remit is to invest in both up- designed and constructed after the restream and downstream lease of safety recommenInternational dations from the 1988 Piper global petroleum projects and forge links with multi- links are being Alpha disaster. The rig has national companies. sought to add never had a lost time inciLast year saw a deal with dent (LTI) through serious value to the Occidental Petroleum to build injury since commencing sector a $7 billion refinery in Panaoperations in 1998. ma, opening up Latin America for the Other developments include a quanfirst time and providing refining capac- tum leap in the production of oil inity of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd). dustry byproducts in the shape of ferOn the gas side, QP will work with tilizer. QAFCO, the Qatar Fertilizer ExxonMobil in Qatar’s Barzan gas pro- Company, was one of the first new ject, and has also taken a stake in liq- industries in Qatar, utilizing waste gas uefied natural gas (LNG) receiving/re- from crude oil production to create gasification terminals in Europe and fertilizers. the U.S. The company plans to raise While it is now the world’s largest its game throughout the supply chain, single site producer of urea and include shipping and terminals. Qatar’s ammonia, with an annual producLNG fleet is considered to be some of tion capacity of two million metthe most technologically advanced in ric tons each, the construction of the industry. a fifth production train—QAFCO-5— RasGas, a joint-venture between QP will boost production to 3,500 metand ExxonMobil is greatly expanding ric tons a day when it is completits global LNG supply beginning this ed in 2010.

Glamorous real estate projects like The Pearl-Qatar, above, have caught the eye of international investors as a major luxury destination.

Real Estate. High-profile projects abound in the State of Qatar U.S. group tackles global

Pearl project: major milestone Skyscrapers reach for the clouds, islands rise from the sea and partnerships cross frontiers as Qatar’s real estate market booms. Demand for commercial and residential properties remains high thanks to new laws favoring foreign investment he Venetians started it, establishing one of the most beautiful cities in the world on man-made islands in the lagoon. Today, oil-rich Arabian states like Qatar and Dubai are following their example, reclaiming land from the waters of the Arabian Gulf to create exclusive Rivierastyle island communities defined by wealth and elegance.

The Pearl-Qatar is one of the most ambitious real estate projects in the world, priced at $20 billion. Currently under construction off the coast of Doha it will eventually be home to 42,000 people and up to 800 visitors.

Those fortunate and wealthy enough to live in the Pearl’s glamorous penthouses, apartments, town houses and villas will enjoy a luxurious waterfront lifestyle based around three marinas, almost half a million square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, and mile upon mile of pristine beaches.

Schools and medical centers will be provided, making it quite possible to live on the island without ever leaving it.

T

One of the most technologically island that one entire district, the advanced real estate developments Qanat Quartier, was sold within an in the world, the Pearl will be a hour when it was launched in Jan“smart” island where residents will uary, grossing $405 million in just have access to everything from smart- 60 minutes. card system technology to userAmong those buying property were friendly home entertainment sys- the architects of the precinct, Andre tems and broadband and his wife ReInvestors were Lategan wireless internet across becca Gernon, who flew to the island. No noisy so eager that a Qatar specifically for the garbage trucks will dis- whole district launch. turb their early morning was bought up A hugely challenging slumbers; a fully auto- within a hour of project, the Pearl is commated vacuum waste disprised entirely of reclaimed its launch posal system will add to land—a total of 4 million the convenience. square meters—and is being built in The island is also intended to be- stages. The owner and developer is come a major cultural center, and the United Development Company set out its stall in February by invit- (UDC), one of the leading public ing world-famous opera star Placido shareholding companies in Qatar.

Domingo to perform to an audience UDC raised a total of $600 million of 3,500, including celebrities and of equity commitments and comdignitaries from the region. mitted financing to invest in the In addition to its manifold at- Qanat Quartier, which was launched tractions, the Pearl is Qatar’s first under the banner “Venice is now in international real estate develop- Qatar”. Guests at the launch were ment and one of the first in Qatar told that the company aims to build to offer freehold to international in- “a precinct akin to the finest Eurovestors. There has been no lack of pean cities and to the city of Venice interest. Indeed, investors have been with its water canals and Italian arso eager to snap up property on the chitecture.”

Explaining the thinking behind the Pearl project, Khalil Al-Sholy, UDC’s Managing Director and President, explains, “As the country grows its infrastructure has to grow with it. The vision of the emir is to open up the country and to make Qatar a destination of choice to come here and enjoy a vacation, do business or just for an exploration trip.”

He continues, “These factors, coupled with the high-caliber professionals that will be coming to Qatar— whether in education or medical facilities or financial institutions—require that you provide the best facilities for obtaining the highest quality of life. The Pearl Island was the product that we thought would fit achieving this aspect the most.”

The other projects where nonQatari nationals are allowed to buy properties are the West Bay Lagoon and the Al Khor beach development being developed by Barwa Real Estate Company (see article, right), and the Lagoon Plaza projects.

The real estate sector is booming in Qatar, as just a glance at the rapidly changing skyline of Doha testifies. The capital city bristles with cranes as the construction industry struggles to keep pace with demand.

Rentals have tripled in the past six years, and yields are excellent. The market for both residential and commercial property has been soaring and is expected to remain high for at least the next five years. Demand for housing is up by 27 percent in the last year, the vacancy level in the office market is just one percent and hotels report high occupancy rates of 70 percent.

Meanwhile, the construction industry is having a field day. Huge projects are in the pipeline, as the State of Qatar seeks to encourage inward foreign investment and create a knowledge-based economy.

water sustainability

ouston-based energy major Cono- the center include crop irrigation, livecoPhillips has announced plans to stock watering, wildlife habitats and inestablish a Global Water Sustainability dustrial cooling, leaving more freshCenter (WSC) at the Qatar Science and water available for domestic use.

Technology Park (QSTP) that will exTesting technologies as well as proamine ways of treating and using by- duction and management techniques product water from oil production and will be developed at the new facility, refining operations. The WSC will be a which will become the energy giant's joint venture with General Electric’s worldwide hub for water expertise. The Water and Process Technologies unit. findings will flow into commercial use Water wastage is a big concern in throughout the company's global opthe oil industry—each barrel of oil cre- erations network, with additional benates about three times as much cont- efits for local government and indusaminated water. Impurities make it un- trial partners. About 75 percent of the usable without costly treatment and it WSC’s work will focus on the petroleis normally re-injected underground, a um sector and the remaining capabilsafe disposal method that that puts it ities will directly target local needs. beyond use. But in the arid “GE’s leading-edge techGulf region, water is in short ConocoPhillips nologies in chemicals, equipsupply and remains vital to is to invest $25 ment and advanced memgrowth. By investing $25 million to find branes, coupled with Conomillion, ConocoPhillips and ways of treating coPhillips’ industrial applicaGE aim to develop more ef- contaminated tions, will help us achieve this ficient and cost-effective waste water goal,” Stice added. treatment technologies.

“Water sustainability is viWhile the research will dital for Qatar and the Middle rectly benefit Qatar's stressed munici- East, and central to QSTP’s strategy of pal, agricultural and industrial water sup- developing key technologies demandply, a ripple effect could result in glob- ed by the local community,” said Dr. al water sustainability solutions.

Tidu Maini, executive chairman at QSTP. “ConocoPhillips has a strong, long- “I am very pleased to see ConocoPhillips standing relationship with Qatar, and and GE join forces to advance research we have been looking to expand that in this field. This is a great example of relationship in ways that benefit both the vibrant collaboration that QTSP is our own operations and the Qatari com- designed to foster.” munity,” said J. Mike Stice, president ConocoPhillips is a major participant of ConocoPhillips Qatar. “The Water in Qatar’s oil and gas industry and is Sustainability Center is a landmark fa- the key foreign partner in the Qatarcility. We are confident that it will de- gas 3 project, a 25-year liquefied natvelop valuable innovations and will ural gas (LNG) undertaking to service make a genuine contribution to Qatar’s the U.S. market. Expected to come onfuture and water treatment science.” line next year, a 7.8 million ton annuProposed uses for water treated at al LNG yield will begin shipping in 2009.

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