Some 4,067 residential units will be added to Barwa Real Estate Company’s operational portfolio by the end of 2019 with the completion of the Affordable Housing Project (for labourers) on Salwa Road, and Dara (A) Project in Fox Hills Zone at Lusail.

More than 570 warehouses and 135 workshops will be ready at Barwa Al Baraha before the year-end, Barwa Real Estate Company chairman HE Saleh bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali said at the company’s ordinary general assembly on Wednesday.

Al Khor Project (Phase 9) and Al Khor Sports Facilities are also expected to be completed this year, he said.

Upon completion of the ongoing projects, the company is expected to add 32,399sq m as rental space for showrooms, offices and shops, the chairman said.

Al-Ali said Barwa’s 2019 plans include “initiation of work” on the the third phase of Madinat Al Mawater project and the third phase of Barwa Al Baraha project, the ongoing work on the master plans and designs for many projects, including the expansion of Um Shehrein warehouses and the Lusail Golf Land projects.

He said Barwa Group’s “Land Bank” within Qatar now extends to 5.8mn sq m.

Al-Ali told Barwa Group shareholders that the company had succeeded in generating profits from sale of a property and construction services amounting to QR373mn last year.

Last year, the company saw “the completion and start” of operations of phase two of Madinat Al Mawater and the Barwa Village Extension project.

He said the group's real estate portfolio has grown to some 7,232 residential units, 12,706 worker rooms, 295,891sq m of shops, showrooms and offices and 260,959sq m of workshops and warehouses.

Barwa Real Estate Company had been able to improve the operational efficiency of the group’s current projects with occupancy rate exceeding 95% in most of them.

The company achieved a net profit of QR1.91bn and an EPS (earning per share) of QR4.92 with an increase of QR210mn in 2018, representing a 12% increase compared to 2017.

Al-Ali also said that the group succeeded in enhancing its operating revenues through increasing its rental income to QR1.27bn, which represents and an increase of QR27mn over 2017.

The ordinary general assembly also approved the distribution of 25% cash dividend, which translates into QR2.5 per share.