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Infrastructure investments underpin Qatar construction

13 January 2026

 

Qatar’s next construction cycle is starting to take shape. In recent months, the country has made progress on several high-profile, large-scale infrastructure schemes that are set to inject fresh momentum into Qatar’s construction pipeline and, crucially, translate into years of contract flow for local contractors, suppliers and service firms.

The largest of these schemes include the proposed high-speed rail line connecting Riyadh and Doha, the revived Friendship Bridge to Bahrain and a planned road corridor linking Qatar with the UAE.

For the construction industry, these moves signal that the state is ready to shift from post-World Cup consolidation to a new, longer-term buildout anchored in regional connectivity.

That longer-term view is especially important after a flat 2025, when contract awards slipped to just over $2bn — the weakest annual total in the past five years — and many in the industry felt a widening gap between plans and procurement.

The mood has now shifted. With about $64bn-worth of projects in the pipeline, Qatar is not short of project opportunities.

The next phase has the potential to sustain contractors and the wider supply chain in the near term, while bringing a more predictable rhythm back to the market as these programmes are broken into packages and move to tender.

Infrastructure sector

Qatar’s transport sector is largely guided by the Transportation Master Plan for Qatar 2050 (TMPQ), unveiled by the Transport Ministry in 2022. The plan supports 286 projects, including 86 highway schemes, 22 cargo transportation schemes, 54 public transport projects, 21 pedestrian schemes, 29 cycling initiatives and 74 cross-modal and integration projects.

Future highway development will entail 37 infrastructure packages totalling 770 kilometres, 22 truck-related schemes and 10 infrastructure and facilities projects. The public transport programme comprises 30 schemes to upgrade the main 540-kilometre public transport network.

The masterplan also includes plans for long-distance, metro and regional rail networks.

Several schemes under the plan progressed last year, with Ashghal awarding a number of infrastructure development contracts. The largest was an estimated $1bn contract awarded to the Qatari subsidiary of Waagner Biro, owned by French firm Egis, for the operation and maintenance of two road schemes.

The first contract is worth QR2.6bn ($713m) and covers the operation and maintenance of strategic highways. The other contract, valued at QR898m ($246m), covers the operation and maintenance of intelligent transportation systems.

In July, Ashghal also awarded two contracts worth QR3.3bn ($931m) for the completion, operation and maintenance of schemes in Qatar North and Qatar South.

The first contract, worth over QR1.6bn ($446m), for the Qatar North scheme was awarded to the joint venture of local firms Al-Mohannadi for Roads & Trading & Contracting and Aktor Qatar.

The QR1.7bn ($480m) contract for the Qatar South scheme was awarded to a joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Harbour Engineering Company and local firm Alcat Contracting.

Other projects currently in the pipeline include the remaining works on roads and infrastructure in the southern area of Simaisma, as well as the construction of roads and infrastructure in Wadi Al-Banat North, Zone 70.

Construction sector

For the best part of a decade, work on the Fifa World Cup 2022 stadiums and associated infrastructure sustained Qatar’s non-hydrocarbons economic growth. However, the construction market found itself at a crossroads following the conclusion of the event.

That changed in 2024, when Qatar launched the Simaisma project on the coast north of Doha, marking a renewed push to accelerate non-hydrocarbons economic growth. The project covers an area of more than eight square kilometres and comprises 16 tourism zones available for private sector development, including resorts, a theme park, an 18-hole golf course, residential villas, a yacht marina, restaurants and retail facilities.

The integrated tourism development aligns with the targets set out in the Third National Development Strategy 2024-30, launched last year, which aims to increase the contribution of non-oil sectors to the Qatari economy.

Several other major construction schemes are in the pipeline and will provide the market with much-needed opportunities in the short to medium term. These include the construction of Amiri flight facilities in the Hamad International airport area, the development of JTAGS and Silent Sentry units for the US Army, Mesaieed Village, and packages four, five and six of the public-private partnership schools development programme.

Last year, Ashghal awarded two major construction contracts worth more than QR368m ($101m) across various locations in the country.

The first contract, worth QR228m ($62m), was awarded to local firm Bo Jamhoor Trading & Contracting Company and covers the construction of three new schools at different sites in Qatar. The second contract, valued at QR140m ($38m), was awarded for repair and renovation works at the Al-Zubara horse breeding farm, located about 60km from Doha.

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Yasir Iqbal

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