{"id":56984,"date":"2017-06-05T23:21:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T16:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/?p=56984"},"modified":"2017-06-05T21:30:15","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T14:30:15","slug":"closure-of-ports-and-road-links-could-have-an-impact-on-qatars-contracting-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/closure-of-ports-and-road-links-could-have-an-impact-on-qatars-contracting-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Closure of ports and road links could have an impact on Qatar's contracting market"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe restriction on the use of airports, ports and roads in neighbouring countries could present a major challenge for Qatar’s construction industry affecting the timeline of its preparations for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.Yesterday, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt broke diplomatic ties with Qatar and cut off air, sea and land access to the country over Doha’s support for “terrorist groups aiming to destabilise the region”.
\nAlthough Qatar is relatively small in size, the major works programmes that have been taking place in the run-up to the forthcoming World Cup has meant that it is a market that has been attractive both to regional and global construction companies for many years. Most of the major works programmes have been designed and managed by global architecture and engineering firms, and many are being delivered by international contractors – often through joint ventures with Qatar-based companies.
\n__________More coverage: Emirates and Etihad to suspend flights to and from Qatar__________A spokeswoman for Atkins, the British construction consultancy managing several major projects including the Gold Line of the Doha Metro, said that it was still assessing the implications of the restrictions that have been put into place, and that its immediate concern was for the safety of its staff in the country.
\nGeorge Franks, the managing director of Interserve International – the British contracting company that has stakes in a contracting company and an engineering business in Qatar which employ a combined workforce of about 11,000 – said the country imports much of its building materials by road from Saudi Arabia.”There’s going to be an immediate impact on some of the mat\u00aderials transported by road, and I think that probably includes quarried materials and precast [concrete] products – the heavier materials that don’t come in by sea or by air.
\n“Obviously we need to understand what the other implications are in terms of the movements of people. As a business that is headquartered in the UAE, it is not going to make it easier for us to visit. We are going to have to go via other locations.”He said that if contractors start to experience materials shortages, then fulfilling contracts on time could become a problem, with questions then arising as to where the liability for these delays lies.
\n“Obviously we’re not there yet, and we’re not going to be there over the next few days, but it could bite fairly quickly if there are some key components we can’t get our hands on or we are having to re-source.”Vasanth Kumar, who earlier this year stepped down from the Qatar-based Arabian MEP contracting business he cofounded, said that people in Qatar were generally hopeful that the current dispute could be sorted out quickly, but that “contractors in general are a little scared” because of the effect that port closures could have on gaining access to equipment.
\n“A lot of projects are running critical now, because 2022 is coming closer. People are really running for time,” he said.A note by analysts at BMI Research said that it believes that Doha “will make considerable efforts to avoid a substantial prolongation or further escalation” of the current situation, but if a prolonged spat developed between Qatar and other GCC states, this could make it more difficult for the country to import materials needed for World Cup-linked projects, potentially leading to delays.
\n“That being said, gas-exporting Qatar still has huge fiscal buffers and mainly trades outside the sub-region, meaning its overall economic stability is not under direct threat from the cooling of GCC ties,” the note said.<div class=”embedObjects”><div class=”responsive-container”><iframe src=”http:\/\/players.brightcove.net\/72178649001\/Bkguh7TDH_default\/index.html?videoId=5459930926001″ allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>
\nmfahy@thenational.aeFollow The National’s Business section on Twitter
\n
\nSource : thenational.ae
\nRead more…Closure of ports and road links could have an impact on Qatar’s contracting market<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The restriction on the use of airports, ports and roads in neighbouring countries could present...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-eP6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46903,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/slower-market-leads-to-cheaper-building-costs-in-dubai-but-world-cup-pushes-up-doha-prices\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":0},"title":"Slower market leads to cheaper building costs in Dubai, but World Cup pushes up Doha prices","date":"March 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Dubai and Jeddah have become comparatively cheaper to build in over the past 12 months, but Fifa World Cup-related activity is continuing to inflate costs in Doha, according to a new study.The International Construction Costs 2017 report by Netherlands-based consultancy Arcadis stated yesterday that Doha has now become the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10884,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/new-construction-spending-in-qatar-plunges\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":1},"title":"New construction spending in Qatar plunges","date":"April 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \r The value of new construction contracts awarded in Qatar during the first three months of this year fell to their lowest levels in more than five years as governments in the region cut back on infrastructure spending because of lower oil prices. According to figures from Meed, contracts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57768,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/fifa-world-cup-2022-construction-under-threat-should-crisis-continue\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":2},"title":"Fifa World Cup 2022 construction under threat should crisis continue","date":"June 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The dispute between Qatar and neighbouring states could potentially cause delays to the country's Fifa World Cup 2022 programme if the current crisis is allowed to drag on, according to a report from BMI Research.Although BMI expects the diplomatic crisis to be resolved \"fairly rapidly\", there were a number\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57778,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/fifa-world-cup-2022-construction-under-threat-should-dispute-continue\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":3},"title":"Fifa World Cup 2022 construction under threat should dispute continue","date":"June 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The dispute between Qatar and neighbouring states could potentially cause delays to the country's Fifa World Cup 2022 programme if the current crisis is allowed to drag on, according to a report from BMI Research.Although BMI expects the diplomatic crisis to be resolved \"fairly rapidly\", there were a number\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":166026,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/das-intellitech-to-establish-first-mena-headquarters-in-qatar\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":4},"title":"DAS Intellitech to establish first MENA headquarters in Qatar","date":"November 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Global smart solutions company to base regional operations and R&D hub in Doha, supporting Qatar\u2019s digital transformation and innovation goals The post DAS Intellitech to establish first MENA headquarters in Qatar appeared first on Arabian Business: Latest News on the Middle East, Real Estate, Finance, and More.\r \r Source\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DAS-Intellitech-Qatar-1000x667-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":168055,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/visit-qatar-brings-back-brouq-winter-desert-experience-to-ras-abrouq\/","url_meta":{"origin":56984,"position":5},"title":"Visit Qatar Brings back Brouq Winter Desert experience to Ras Abrouq","date":"December 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Visit Qatar\u2019s Brouq returns to Ras Abrouq, transforming Qatar\u2019s west coast into an immersive winter desert experience for all age The post Visit Qatar Brings back Brouq Winter Desert experience to Ras Abrouq appeared first on Arabian Business: Latest News on the Middle East, Real Estate, Finance, and More.\r\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ERMZ0882-1000x667-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}