The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in co-operation with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), has announced its second initiative to ease the procedures and specify the conditions for construction licences of business centres.
The initiative is part of MEC’s efforts to improve and develop the business environment in the country through providing comprehensive investment solutions for entrepreneurs.
According to a statement issued by the MEC , the initiative will allow owners of business centres to subdivide the internal area into open spaces, semi-closed spaces, completely-closed spaces, or partitioned sections with screens. The step would allow the lease of the property to a number of tenants, from large corporations to small enterprises.
Business centres are equipped with all the necessary support services, wired and wireless communication infrastructure and furniture, in addition to other organisational services such as facilities for holding conferences and provision for transportation services.
Owners of business centres can obtain the necessary approvals for the subdivision from the MME, the General Directorate of the Civil Defence and the MEC.
The general conditions for issuing a licence for a business centre are:
lThe maximum licensing area of a business centre shall not exceed 25% of the overall space of the building for administrative activities. Buildings designed as business centres at the Towers Area shall be exempted from this rule.
lIn case the business centre is located near public transportation networks, metro stations and multi-storey car parks, the building can secure one parking lot for each two offices instead of one parking lot per office.
lThe establishment’s licence is granted for a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years (an evaluation period) that can be extended to five years.
The main divisions that make up business centres include service offices, the space of which should not exceed 70% of the leased space of the main office, common services, the area of which should not be less than 30% of the overall space of the main office, including corridors, meeting and conference halls, reception office, waiting areas, attached services (toilets, kitchen, etc.) and other services dedicated to the same business centre. The subdivisions are calculated on the basis of the overall leased space and areas where the centres are located.
This initiative is expected to boost the business environment in the country and improve the productivity of all sectors, the MEC said in a statement.
QATAR
