QDB chief rules out rent hike sfor Al Furjan Markets Phase 2

Qatar Development Bank will not raise rental rates for commercial outlets included in Phase 2 of its Al Furjan Markets project, which has already commenced construction work, according to QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, al-Khalifa said existing rents at Al Furjan Markets across the country are pegged at QR6,000 per month.
But unlike the shops built under Phase 1 of the project, the new outlets are larger at 5x12sq m (compared to the existing 4x12sq m) and include an extra floor for employees’ accommodation.
“We are not increasing the rents; our target is not actually financial. As Qatar Development Bank, our target is to ensure that we deliver the basic services to the suburbs of Doha.
“A lot of the locations included in the second phase are outside of Doha and our main aim is to ensure that these areas are served with basic requirements and basic needs, so we have evolved from Phase 1 and found areas for development,” al-Khalifa told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the press conference.
Phase 2, according to al-Khalifa, includes a total of 32 markets, of which, six are expected to be completed in the next 12 months. The remaining 26, he added, are expecting completion by mid-2019.
The first six markets will include 78 shops located in the following areas: Two markets in Muaither South with 16 shops, one market each in Jerian Jenihat (21 shops), Umm Qarn (16), Kharaitiyat (seven), and one in Umm Al Khor (10).
The 26 markets, which are in the design stage, will be located in Umm Lekhba, Al Gharaffa, Izghawa, Bani Hajer, Luaib/Al Muhajirah, Al Aziziya, Muaither North, Bu Sidra, Ain Khalid (two lands), Umm Al Saneem (three lands), Al Sakhama, Saina Al Humaidi, Al Thakhira, Madinat Al Kaaban, Madinat Ash Shamal, Rawdat Rashed, Al Karaana, Al Wakrah, Al Utouriya, Lkhreeb, Al Ghwairyya, Al Rayyan Al Jadeed, Aba Al Hiran, and Ain Sinan.
“The commercial activities had been approved by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and we are dealing with 31 commercial activities covering all of the day-to-day needs of residents such as pharmacy, grocery, and eateries, among many others,” Al Furjan Markets project director Abdul Rahman al-Suwaidi said.
Al-Khalifa said QDB is in the process of finalising the construction permits and approvals of the markets; implementation tender is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2018.
“QDB had been studying the land allocated initially by the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment, and 32 lands in different cities had been selected as the first step in the project’s second phase, which is distributed between the internal and external areas of the state land, based on key criteria that demonstrates the feasibility of building markets to facilitate and cater to the daily needs of the residents of these areas.”