Qatar
Poor road conditions forcing warehouses to quit Industrial Area
Poor road conditions forcing warehouses to quit Industrial Area
The poor condition of the roads and other infrastructure facilities in some of the streets in the Doha Industrial Area, are forcing businessmen, especially those in sectors like food procurement and processing, to abandon their existing facilities and look for alternative locations such as the fast developing Logistics Village. |
The Logistics Village is on the southwestern side of the Industrial Area.
It has been learnt from some of the business houses operating in the Industrial Area that a number of them have already moved to the Logistics Village, which is fast emerging as a popular destination among the entrepreneurs, particularly among those in foodstuff wholesaling.
Speaking to this newspaper, a senior manager of a prominent business house which has operations on Street 36 of the Industrial Area, said similar companies had been complaining about the poor condition of the roads to concerned authorities for more than 3-4 years but that nothing has been done to solve the issue.
“We will move to a new place in the Logistics Village this summer itself, without waiting for the roads full of potholes to get flooded during rain,” he said, while adding that some of the well-known retailing groups had shifted their operations to other locations, including the Village.
Inquiries made with some of those moving to Logistics Village and similar facilities in the neighbourhood, revealed that the new roads being developed in the immediate areas would eventually give them good connectivity both to the Hamad International Airport (HIA) and also facilitate easy movement to the southern and western sides of Doha.
In addition, most tenants operating in the Industrial Area these days face uncertainty on account of the astonishingly high rents prevailing in the market.
A company operator said there is no guarantee that many companies would be able to continue in the area where they are presently located, due to the frequent demands from real estate houses for raising rents.
There have been instances of property owners hiking the rents by 100% or even more, during the contract period, said a manager, citing his company as an example. “It is to overcome such situations that we have made up our mind to move to a convenient and more
professionally-run place like the Logistics Village, where there is no room for such uncertainties on continuance, at least at this stage,” he said.
Sources in the wholesale industry said even though there is not much difference between the prevailing rents in the Industrial Area warehouses and those in the Logistics Village, there are attractive options for entrepreneurs, such as long-term contracts, which effectively means the fluctuations in the market do not affect their rents.
“One of the greatest advantages is the new roads coming up in the surroundings of the Logistics Village and similar facilities on the southwestern side of Doha,” said a businessman, whose company is shifting from their existing location on Street 38.