Qatar faces possible shortages of building materials after links cut

Qatar has stockpiled supplies of basic building materials but a prolonged economic boycott by the neighbouring countries will disrupt supply.

Construction work at Al Bayt Stadium in Doha, one of the venues for Fifa World Cup 2022. Naseem Zeitoon / Reuters

Qatar could begin facing shortages of building materials within months following the severing of economic links with three Arabian Gulf countries, experts said.

The closure of land, sea and air borders by neighbouring countries the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain – as well as Egypt – on June 5 is beginning to have an effect on Qatar’s construction sector, which is entering into a key phase as it prepares to build infrastructure and stadiums ahead of the Fifa 2022 World Cup.

One consultant, who did not want to be named, told The National that Qatar could begin to face major shortages of basic building materials such as concrete, rebar and electrical equipment within two to three months.

About two-thirds of this currently comes into the country over the land border with Saudi Arabia, and although goods can be re-routed by sea or air, this would be more costly.

Building materials would also need to compete for cargo space with higher priority goods, such as food.

BMI Research said on Friday that while Qatar had stockpiled enough building materials to withstand supply disruption, it could still face shortages within two months.

Qatar’s government had been stockpiling cement and the country’s storage capacity had been boosted after Qatar Primary Materials Company opened two cement silos last December, the research company said.

It also said that since 2015, most of Qatar’s imported cem­ent had been supplied by Iran (it had previously come from the UAE).

Despite this, it argued that should the current diplomatic rift extend beyond a few weeks the construction sector would be hit.

“The market remains reliant on imported goods for construction and is unlikely to be able to withstand the diplomatic rift for longer than two months, even with the aforementioned efforts to increase domestic capacity,” BMI Research said.

“This places it in a vulnerable position, given its reliance on UAE ports, from which it is now banned.

“A shortage of supplies coupled with price inflation would weigh heavily on project activity, tempering the pace of investment into the sector and subsequently weakening construction growth.”

Yet Qatar remains upbeat about its ability to withstand the boycott and implement projects related to the World Cup.

Ashghal, the head of Qatar’s Public Works Authority, said that it had enough reserves of gabbro, a key aggregate used in construction, to last the country for over a year.

In a bid to reassure Qataris about the country’s access to building materials, Ashghal’s president, Saad Al Muhannadi, added that materials that had previously been brought into the country by land would now be shipped by sea, and that the country’s reaction to the economic boycott had proven the “strong planning and efforts of Ashghal and its contractors”.

Mr Al Muhannadi said: “They also increased our ability to be self-reliant.”

“We continue implementing our projects at the same pace.”

He said that there are “multiple sources and countries to get materials from, such as Oman, Kuwait, India, European countries, and others”.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the body responsible for Qatar’s World Cup programme, said last week that work was underway at seven stadiums following its recent completion of the rebuild at Khalifa International Stadium.

“We are moving ahead rapidly with construction across all of our stadium and infrastructure sites for the tournament,” SC Competition Venues executive director, Ghanim Al Kuwari said.

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