Qatar Today February 200644

By Vani Saraswathi

Launched last year, the Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company plans to tap into the vast real es-

tate potential that the country has to of-fer, by developing prime locations across Qatar. Diar will also be extending its in-terests in select countries worldwide, de-veloping commercially viable projects.

Fully owned by the State of Qatar’s High Supreme Council for Economic Af-fairs and Investment, Qatari Diar will fa-cilitate infrastructure and socio-econom-ic development in the wake of Qatar’s phenomenal economic growth.

It will also manage the creation and co-ordination of financially sound prop-erty development opportunities that will generate sustainable growth for years to come. The company hopes to redefine property investment across the region and around the world.

In December last, Qatari Diar launched the massive Lusail project, and is now preparing to launch other develop-ments.

Qatari Diar, CEO, Nasser Hassan Al Ansari is confident that the company has the expertise and vision required to make it a pioneer in the real estate devel-oper in the region.

He spoke to Qatar Today about pros-pects in real estate development and the company’s master plan for the country.

Real Estate development has become very Doha specific, what about devel-opment outside of the capital?

Lusail project hopes to do that. It will re-lieve the congestion within the city. It is a totally new extension to Doha. And in the near future we are going to launch a project in Al Khor too, which is a free-hold. Lusail is up for ownership for GCC citizens and 99 years lease for others. Al

Khor again will be a residential-commer-cial combination.

What has been the response to Lusail?The $5 billion Lusail project is already in the market, and has attracted wide in-terest from the region. We have a lot of

F o c u s

Development Dreams: Tapping into a new goldfield

Qatari Diar CEO, Nasser Hassan Al Ansari

45Qatar TodayFebruary 2006

Kuwaiti investors who have purchased property there.

Phase I, which is the Lusail Marina,

has 97 plots, all of which are sold out. 10 percent was taken by GCC citizens and the rest were local purchases. There has been some interest from Asian and Euro-pean markets too. Lusail Marina, how-ever, was targeted at the GCC region.

In future we will be launching projects that interests the Asian, European and other regions.

Why is the government interested in Real Estate, when private companies are already doing this, especially since the local market is not that big?The Government owns a lot of land in several strategic locations. Traditionally the government will help in developing prime areas, by improving infrastruc-ture.

Qatari Diar has significant advantages including the state-patronised sound in-vestment climate. Although Qatari Diar is owned by the state, it is structured on recognised, best-practice private sector principles that guarantee transparency and efficiency in all aspects of the busi-ness. In addition, the Company is man-aged and staffed by recognised leaders in their fields who are qualified in ev-ery aspect of the design, planning, con-struction and management of real estate

developments as well as training local staff.

Due to the fact that the areas we have are strategically located we felt that it was important for us to create a vehicle that has a business plan, to implement proper development. We want to open up opportunities for real estate develop-ers.

The magnitude and the size of our proj-ects go beyond the capability of existing companies. Therefore, we are creating the platform for them to build properties. We are the master developer of the land. Others come and continue the develop-ment.

The artist’s impression you see is going to be executed by investors.

We are going to create the platform by cleaning up the water and putting up the infrastructure. And the investors are go-ing to come in and put up their property.

Who will market the property once it’s developed?The individual developers will have to market it themselves. Let’s take Lusail for example. We have branded the Lu-sail project, and under its umbrella there maybe sub-brands, developed by the investor.

Barwa launched with high expectations

Barwa, the real estate company in which Diar holds 45 percent stake, was launched at the end of 2005.

With a capital base of QR2 billion, the Barwa IPO offered 55 percent stake to Qatari public.

Barwa’s core business activities include brokerage, appraisal, prop-erty management, property develop-ment, subdivision, counselling, prop-erty investment, mortgage and deed of trust. It has already acquired four land strips at prime locations in Doha at a discounted price from its founder company.

The real estate company’s projects include the construction of a 100-sto-rey executive and residential tower with halls and showroom at the Qatar International Exhibition Centre and other towers in the West Bay. The other projects include commercial facilities, market complexes, show-rooms, hotels, residential, tourist and recreational facilities in new develop-ing suburbs.

Ministers at the launch of the Lusail project

Qatar Today February 200646

But we lay down the guidelines on the sub-branding, on how it reflects on the whole project.

What kind of control will Qatari Diar have on the development, once it’s sold?We have a contract with the developer, that we will review his feasibility study, marketing strategy, his product from the technical point of view, the building, the specifications. We have our own regula-tions – planning code, construction code, that they should comply with. We have design guidelines, but the actual design-ing will be done by the developer.

When will the base land be ready for Lusail development?The first part will be in three years, and everything in terms of infrastructure will be completed in five years. The develop-ers can start building 24-30 months from the date we launched the project (Dec 2005).

Is there a stipulation on what is to be built?Yes. Each plot has a land use. High-rise commercial, high-rise residential, hotels, mixed use...

And Al Khor?That project is still in the planning process.

What about financing? Will Diar be helping the developers?Well, the developers will have to take care of the financing by themselves. But we are looking at the role we can play in facilitating it. That is still under current review – to enhance our development strategy.

At this point the developer is expected to get his own funding.

Are local banks equipped to finance projects of such magnitude? Are you looking at foreign financial institu-tions?Yes. And we are studying the market closely and assessing capabilities. We will do what is required to help our de-velopers.

In the Lusail project, what part of the land is going to be reclaimed?About 35 percent.

There are three reclamations happening in that part of the Arabian Sea – NDIA, the Pearl and Lusail. What concerted efforts are in place in terms of environ-mental preservation?We did marine environmental studies, to cover the area, to assess the impact on the region. The company who did Pearl did this too. We tested the lagoon itself, for impact assessment, to get it approved by the Supreme Council for Environ-ment and Nature Research.

What is the rationale behind a Govern-ment company investing in properties abroad?The areas we have identified are com-mercially viable. We will develop, sell and manage our products in Morocco (Tangiers) and in Egypt (two develop-ments). Tangiers project is going to be unique. It is close to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. And Arabs are showing increasing interest in Morocco as a travel destination.

The project in Cuba is strategically to

enhance bi-lateral relations, and we also feel it’s a promising market.

In Sudan we are planning to build a hotel and convention centre. We want to discover new places and go where not many have gone before. We are looking at a combined property in Bahrain again. And there is also the Oman project. We are also going to be looking at places outside of the region in the future.

What role do the local governments play?We have purchased the land and are developing it. Just as any private devel-oper.

About your Qatar offerings, is Diar planning only projects of this magni-tude? What about medium-range de-velopments?Barwa will probably do that. I would like to think of ourselves as Master De-velopers of land in Qatar. Barwa will be developing buildings.

We own 45 percent of it. It will have its own management, strategic develop-ment... we will complement each other in the work we undertake.

Has Barwa taken any plots in Lusail?Not yet.

Do you think the real estate boom will continue for long?Yes, it is going to be there for a long time. The country has opened up opportuni-ties and services, which were never pro-vided earlier.

We are diversifying from hydrocar-bon resources to other service-oriented industries. There has been a lot of busi-ness interest, investments and services that the country has been attracting. So the demand for and consequent growth of real estate properties will always be there. Of course, it will vary depending on the growth of the economy and sup-ply and demand of the market.

People will always be looking for better properties and better living stan-dards. And if we provide the right prop-erties and the expected living standards, we will survive in the market.n

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Diar Abroad

In addition to furthering growth op-portunities in Qatar, Qatari Diar is also actively seeking to generate invest-ment opportunities across the region. In recent months, Qatari Diar has an-nounced two significant projects, the first of which is a $170 million luxury tourist resort (230 hectares) on the Hawara Coast in Tangier including a 5-star hotel with all supporting fa-cilities, coastal chalets, exhibitions centre, golf club surrounded by state-of-the-art residential units, coastal sports-and-recreation club, restau-rants and cafes, in addition to a souq for traditional and cultural handicrafts. The second project is in collaboration with the Omani Government and aims to create an ideal eco-tourist destina-tion (200 hectares) in Sur County’s Ras al-Had.