The transformation of an economic model
For several years now, Qatar has been seeking to diversify its economy in order to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons (now at 51%). Faithful to its strategy of large-scale infrastructure construction, the country continues to implement a number of pharaonic projects. Aided by virtually unlimited financial resources, the authorities have opted for a policy focused on investment, notably in urban development, roads, the metro and rail public transport network, a new commercial port, a new international airport, leisure and prestige infrastructures... and in new industries such as downstream oil, steel and aluminium. In 2011, the authorities launched a long-term development plan, "National Vision 2030", focusing on 4 key areas: the creation of world-class clusters around the knowledge economy (Education City), the development of a transport hub (metro, tramway, new airport), and the creation of a financial hub (West Bay).
The Qatar Foundation is a state-run institution built on these two pillars: to provide the younger generation with a first-rate intellectual education, provided by the best foreign universities located on the outskirts of Doha, and to preserve the country's cultural identity. Naturally, the foundation is generously endowed to put its plans into action. Its flagship project is undoubtedly Education City, adjacent to the Qatar Science and Technology Park, dedicated to the incubation of new start-ups. The Qatari authorities are also keen to develop tourism in the wake of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, with its new tenfold increase in hotel capacity and the opening of new malls and theme parks, notably in the newly-built city of Lusail.
Liquefied gas production
Today, Qatar is neck-and-neck with the USA as the world's leading exporter of liquefied gas - the famous LNG that has preoccupied all countries since the war in Ukraine was sparked off by Russia. In 2021, Qatar Petroleum announced the construction of what will be the world's largest LNG production center by 2030: the 29-billion-euro North Field Expansion Project. As a result, predictions are good: production is set to rise from 78.2 million cubic meters a year to 110 million in 2030, thanks in particular to the NFE project, which represents the first phase of LNG expansion.
Major projects
Qatar has invested nearly 75 billion dollars in the construction of new infrastructures, in preparation for the World Cup, but also on a more long-term basis to boost its economy through tourism (which is more business-oriented) and open the country up to the world in a soft-power way, like other Gulf countries today, principally the United Arab Emirates. Qatar has a new metro - 4 lines in one go! Oryx Express is a rail network of over 300 km, comprising four lines serving 98 stations, including all the venues for the World Cup in 2022.
Doha is now equipped with a brand-new 500,000m2 airport capable of handling 24 million passengers a year, with a hotel and a metro line directly linked to the city center. The Barwa financial center near the Corniche in the heart of the city is home to financial institutions, investment firms and banks. Money!
One of the most impressive projects is the creation from A to Z of the new Msheireb Downtown district: an old neighborhood that was razed and rebuilt as a 31-hectare eco-district to give a soul back to the heart of the city next to the Souq Waqif. Here, water from the original spring is everywhere in the streets and gardens. Human-scale buildings reminiscent of traditional desert architecture were favored, in contrast to the other American-style skyscraper districts in the city. Project cost: 20 billion riyals (4.2 billion euros).
Another pharaonic project is the new city of Lusail, also linked to the metro north of Doha, as an extension of The Pearl. This project includes a new "smart city" which, once inhabited and completed, should attract around 100,000 visitors with its shops, avenues and marinas.
The Pearl artificial island, which - like Gaudi's Sagrada familia - is never finished, still sees cranes dancing in its skyline, while its yacht-lined "croisette" sees the rise of the new Saint Regis hotel, open since the 2022 World Cup. Another artificial island, Quetaifan Island, has also just risen from the water, just off Lusail. It boasts a huge theme park and a number of new hotels, restaurants and cafés.
Objective: sustain the World Cup effect
The Qatari monarchy also has a passion for football - it bought PSG, part of the rights to the French championship and its broadcasts, and organized the FIFA World Cup in 2022. For the first time in its history, this competition was organized in a Middle Eastern country, in a small Arab and Muslim country. The Qatari bid first attracted four ambassadors: Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola, Roger Milla and Sir Alex Ferguson, then the FIFA Executive Committee. Qatar built ultra-modern stadiums, with solar-powered air conditioning to maintain a constant temperature of 27 degrees, and eventually postponed the World Cup from June to November 2022, to avoid the scorching temperatures. The matches were played at sites within a 50-kilometer radius of each other, linked by a metro system that creates an urban synergy. Qatar is betting on the tourism sector, in which it has invested heavily and hopes for lasting spin-offs after the World Cup. Hotels continue to open in Doha's new districts, ever more luxurious and immense! The country is keen to invest in the MICE market, for trade fairs and business trips that require large hotel capacities.
