The volume of Qatar’s spending on infrastructure is expected to reach $150bn over the next five years, HE the Minister of Economy and Finance Yousef Hussein Kamal said yesterday. Speaking at the two-day Qatar-Spain Business Forum, the minister said that expenditure on infrastructure in Qatar in the non-oil sectors will range between $120 and $140bn over the next five or six years. Spending on the oil and gas sector is estimated between $30 and $40bn during the same period, he said. The annual average expenditure on both sectors is estimated at $30bn. He said the growth rate of Qatar’s nominal economy for the current year is expected at approximately 30%. He added that Spanish-Qatari relations have witnessed a boost after the visit of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to Spain last April. He called upon the Spanish companies to invest in the Qatari market. Meanwhile, the Spanish Minister of Tourism, Industry and Trade Miguel Sebastian, said that Qatar was linked to Spain through historical and cultural ties, adding that the “great growth” of the Qatari economy and the investment opportunities available is the one factor which attracted Spanish businessmen, whose number now exceeded 100.
The Spanish minister described the visit of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to Spain as historic and fruitful for both countries. He pointed out that Qatar currently tops the world with regard to rates of economic growth with GDP rising about six times over the last six years, thus achieving real economic growth in the range of 15%, adding that the country was not affected by the recent global financial crisis. The minister said that a large number of Spanish companies were attending the forum to look for investment opportunities in a number of projects including infrastructure, transportation, engineering, rail, water, and the services sector. He praised the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Qatar and Spain recently with a view to co-operating in the field of infrastructure. In remarks on the sidelines of the forum, the Spanish minister stressed that Qatar is a major provider of gas to his country, and the third largest exporter to Spain, adding that Spain is seeking to bring about more balance in trade with Qatar, by increasing exports to Qatar. He said Qatar is an ideal place for the Spanish companies to invest in, especially in light of Qatar winning the bid to host World Cup 2022 and the National Vision Plans, “2030”. He praised the performance of the Spanish companies especially in infrastructure, energy and the environment sectors. The Spanish minister stressed that the Gulf region is of a particular importance to Spain because of the “large growth rates the region enjoys globally”, and added that his country was seeking to sign a free trade agreement between the European Union states and the GCC member-states very soon.