Doha: Manateq, Qatar’s Special Economic Zones Company which operates industrial zones, logistics and warehousing parks across the country, has partnered with private sector firms to develop a massive QR5bn warehousing project in Qatar, Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi (pictured), CEO of Manateq has said.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the ongoing Project Qatar 2022, Al Kaabi said there are now over 3,700 investors at Manateq, compared to more than 2,000 investors before the pandemic.
“After all the huge construction projects which have been developed for the World Cup, people are now expected to transfer to trading, industrial, and finding different opportunities. These are the businesses we are targeting now and in the future. The government has also been finding different solutions, and one of the most successful projects is the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) type of a public private partnership (PPP),” said Al Kaabi.
He added: “On warehousing, we have a huge project which is more than a QR5bn investment between the private sectors and Manateq development for BOT projects in different areas. At Manateq, we’re trying to attract as much as possible from international and local investors. We have different solutions for investors in logistics, trading, and also for open yard. It’s a new solution funded for a lot of big construction companies, which have already finished their World Cup projects and are now left with a lot of construction materials for future projects. So we opened huge plots for investors to have these open yards”.
According to Al Kaabi, some of Manateq’s successful BOT projects include the awarding of 2 million sqm plots for different investors who built warehouses.
“After we saw the success of both projects, it’s a huge project including four projects with 2 million sqm and an investment of about QR3.8bn, we also invested and tried to target another BOT project which is awarded to GWC, and we are happy to see this project across 1.5 million sqm area. They have finished Phase 1 which is approximately 50 percent of the project, and it’s now ready for lease. About 80 percent of the plots are already occupied before the World Cup,” Al Kaabi said.
He added: “There is a huge investment on industrial and logistics area, and finding different solutions for investors. And Manateq is happy to be part of these booming investment partnerships with direct investors through BOT projects”.
It may be noted that Manateq, which has a total area of 78 million sqm economic zones spread across various prime locations in Qatar, has previously awarded the Al Wukair Logistics Parks to GWC on a 30-year lease.
The facilities will be built in a variety of sizes catering to small, medium and large enterprises giving all, from startups to established brands, the opportunity to benefit from its investment incentives.
Speaking at the ‘Mega Projects Qatar Conference 2022’, Ali Al Naama, Corporate & Planning Director at Manateq said: “Development of industrial and logistics plots and lands in Qatar is very crucial, to cater to investors’ needs and requirements to establish a fully comprehensive economic development, which is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 mission to create world class business environment that caters for domestic and international investors”.
