Qatar to splash US$19.2bn on utilities

Qatar plans to spend around QAR70bn (US$19.2bn) on the expansion of its electricity and water networks between now and 2021, the country’s minister for energy and industry said Sunday. Speaking at the 10th GCC Water Conference, HE Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, minister of industry and energy, announced that the country had big plans to invest in utilities to meet growing demand for power and water, Qatar News Agency reported. He estimated that the country would pour approximately QR22bn into upgrading its water networks over the next decade and around QR30bn on electricity infrastructure. The Gulf state’s utilities authority Kahramaa has signed around 20 projects related to water and electricity, he said, adding that infrastructure upgrade projects would also be announced soon. Talking about the region’s agriculture and industrial needs, he called on GCC countries to take into account the dry conditions and to look at new efficient ways to maintain water networks. He added that the decision to invest in the Barzan Gas Project in Qatar was aimed at satisfying local energy requirements in the future.