The Minister and other senior officials viewing the design model of The Pearl-Qatar project at Cityscape Qatar. PICTURE: Jayan Orma
The Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani inaugurated yesterday Cityscape Qatar at the Qatar National Convention Centre.The mega real estate event is taking place under the patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani. The minister said: “Qatar has the highest economic growth rate in the world, ranking it among the world’s richest countries in terms of GDP per capita. “The exhibition reflects the big leaps that Qatar has made in investment and the real estate sector and embodies the boom, which has taken place in the country over the past decade through the investment of huge real estate projects.” The minister mentioned that the National Development Strategy of Qatar has allocated more than $225bn for infrastructure projects and construction as part of National Vision 2030, and in preparations for the hosting World Cup in 2022.However, he cautioned that Qatar was still facing challenges in the real estate sector. “In the lead-up to the World Cup 2022, Qatar needs to build 12 eco-friendly stadiums costing $32bn, pave roads and streets worth $20bn, construct 45,000 hotel rooms and complete the Msheireb project costing $5bn, as well as other real estate projects such as Qatar Rail, Doha metro and the deep sea port project,” he pointed out.Deep Marwaha, Group Director, Cityscape, said that with strong growth prospects for 2014, participants are looking to unlock this year’s theme of ‘Finding Opportunities’.“At Cityscape Qatar we strive to support and promote the real estate sector in Qatar by creating opportunities for new business and sharing industry knowledge,” he said.He said that 55% of all exhibitors have travelled from abroad, representing regional countries such as Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey, as well as major European, North and Latin American markets such as the UK, the USA, Spain and Uruguay.Ezdan Holding Group, officially announced the opening of Al Shamal Compound, a brand new development situated in a lively location on Al Shamal Road and consists of 129 luxury villas, 256 distinct apartments and a four-star hotel of 220 rooms.Msheireb Properties, who are making their debut at Cityscape Qatar, are showcasing their new flagship project Msheireb Downtown Doha, the world’s largest certified sustainable community, consisting of commercial and residential units combined with 5,200 solar panels.The exhibition features presentations and panel discussions from some of the industry’s foremost thought leaders. Abdulla al-Mehshadi, CEO, Msheireb Properties; Hamad bin Ali al-Hedfa, CEO, Mazaya Qatar; and Fahad al-Ghunaim, chairman and CEO, First Qatar, all participated on a panel discussion on the topic of “Examining market drivers, dynamics and opportunities both domestically and in the wider Gulf region”. Sharing their collective expertise, delegates learnt about the growth in Qatar 2014-15 based on demographic projections, real estate developments offering the highest returns on investment and how to best balance a mixed portfolio of suppliers.Mohsin Mujtaba, product and market development director, Qatar Exchange, as well as international figures Robert Lee, managing partner, HEMI Capital, Canada; and Prof Roy Ling, managing director, RL Capital Management, Singapore, headed a panel discussion on ‘real estate finance’. The focus was on the difficulty of securing development loans following new financial regulation this year and how best to overcome these challenges innovatively through alternative funding, notably Islamic Banking and Sukuk structuring.