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Dukhan solar award drives Qatar’s utility sector

13 January 2026

 

South Korea’s Samsung C&T won a contract with state-owned petroleum firm QatarEnergy in September to build a 2,000MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Dukhan, accelerating the country’s renewable generation strategy.

Once completed, the project will double Qatar’s solar generation capacity and is expected to supply up to 30% of the country’s total peak electricity demand.

The Dukhan solar PV project will be delivered in two phases and is scheduled to be fully operational by mid-2029. The first 1,000MW phase is due to be connected to the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) grid by the end of 2028, with the second phase following a year later.

The award reflects a broader acceleration in Qatar’s renewable energy programme, which began with the 800MW Al-Kharsaah solar independent power producer (IPP) project.

Al-Kharsaah, Qatar’s first utility-scale solar PV facility, entered commercial operation in 2022 and marked a structural shift in the country’s approach to power generation planning. The project established solar PV as a core component of the national energy mix, rather than a supplementary source of capacity.

Expanding solar capacity

Since then, progress has focused on scaling capacity at pace. In 2025, construction was completed on two additional solar PV plants, located in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed, adding a combined 875MW of capacity.

The Ras Laffan plant has a capacity of 458MW, while the Mesaieed facility contributes a further 417MW. Samsung C&T was also the contractor for these projects, reinforcing its role as the dominant solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in the country.

With Al-Kharsaah, Ras Laffan and Mesaieed now operational, Qatar’s installed solar generation capacity stands at about 1,675MW. This is in line with its long-term objective to install 5,000MW in renewable energy capacity by 2035.

Peak electricity demand remains driven by summer cooling loads. On the supply side, Qatar’s total contracted electricity capacity now exceeds 13,000MW following the award of the Dukhan project.

As in the previous year, the utilities market in 2025 was dominated by a single large power generation scheme.

In 2024, Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation won the contract to develop and operate the $2.3bn Facility E independent water and power project (IWPP), accounting for more than half of total contract awards. The project, which entered construction in September, will have a power generation capacity of 2,300MW and a water desalination capacity of 100 million imperial gallons a day.

In 2025, the Dukhan solar project played a comparable role, driving the overall value of awarded contracts in Qatar’s utilities sector to about $2.7bn and accounting for approximately 39% of total awards.

Although this fell short of the previous year’s peak, it still made 2025 the second-strongest year for Qatar’s utilities sector since 2017, with a lower degree of concentration.

The level of activity points to a more sustained flow of awards following a slowdown linked to the completion of World Cup-related infrastructure and disruption during the Covid-19 period.

Grid investment

In parallel, Qatar also continued to advance its thermal power generation programme to support system flexibility and peak demand management.

Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC), in collaboration with Kahramaa, is undertaking the construction of a 511MW single-cycle gas turbine plant at Ras Abu Fontas Industrial Zone on the south side of Doha.

The main EPC contract was awarded to a consortium led by South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility. The peak power plant, valued at about QR1.6bn ($439.5m), is scheduled to become operational by January 2027.

Qatar’s efforts to expand both thermal and solar power generation capacity have also driven investment in its transmission and distribution network, with two contracts exceeding $100m in value.

Kahramaa awarded Elsewedy Cables Qatar the $274m main EPC contract for the construction of 132kV cables. Separately, UK-headquartered Best & Betas won the main contract for the construction of five substations and one new transformer centre, with a combined installed capacity of 1,700MVA.

Water transmission focus

Over the next 12 months, large power generation projects will take a back seat in Qatar’s utilities sector as the focus shifts towards power and water transmission infrastructure.

Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal, is expected to issue the request for proposals by mid-2025 for four construction contracts that form part of the South of Wakrah and New District of Doha pumping station scheme. Together, the four projects have an estimated combined value of about $1.1bn.

The scheme is part of Qatar’s longer-term drainage and flood-resilience strategy. In 2013, Ashghal developed the Qatar Integrated Drainage Master Plan, which set out a 50-year roadmap for foul water, groundwater, stormwater and treated sewage effluent systems across the country.

The plan identified several major groundwater and stormwater projects required to support urban expansion and climate resilience, including the South of Wakrah and New District of Doha pumping station and outfall scheme.

Progress on these projects has slowed since 2022, when Ashghal received prequalification submissions from construction companies interested in bidding for the four packages. However, with power generation capacity now largely secured in the near term, the renewed emphasis on transmission, drainage and water infrastructure will shape the next phase of activity in Qatar’s utilities market.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15422255/main.jpg
Mark Dowdall

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