(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
Doha: Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (Qatari Diar) has completed more than 80 percent of the infrastructure projects for the Lusail City, said Nabeel Mohammed Al Buenain, CEO of Qatari Diar.
In an interview with Lusail newspaper, Al Buainain said an estimated QR 40 billion will be spent to develop infrastructure, services and other facilities in Lusail City.
He said that the City is designed to accommodate 450,000 people, including 250,000 residents, 190,000 office workers and about 60,000 employees in retail stores, adding that the company is currently focusing on provisions like petrol stations, health centers and private schools.
Lusail, he said, will see the opening of a mall next year as part of the city's plans to build 3 commercial malls. A number of residents have already started moving to the city and the city's population is expected to increase once the infrastructure and facilities are completed, added the CEO of Qatari Diar.
He pointed out that many government institutions have plots of land in the City and will develop them to move their offices to Lusail in the near future, adding there are some institutions, which are in the process of moving there and a number of ministries are currently ready to construct theirs.
Al Buainain said that the main stadium of the 2022 World Cup will be in Lusail and that the company is coordinating with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy to complete the infrastructure. The Qatari Diar also supports the needs of the World Cup projects such as roads, malls and shops to attract tourists and World Cup fans.
Regarding Qatari Diar foreign investments, he said the company's investments around the world have reached $40 billion in 22 countries across five continents, and the CityCenterDC in Washington DC is one of Qatari Diar's most successful real estate projects as the company has developed an integrated complex comprising residential apartments and commercial facilities and others.
Qatari Diar, he said, is investing in three projects in the United States: CityCenterDC and Conrad in Washington and another in Long Island City. These projects offer significant job opportunities in all sectors in the United States, Al Buainain said, adding that the company has also five projects in Britain with a total value of $8.17 billion such as luxury hotels, residential units, commercial offices, retail stores with affordable housing. He pointed out that the company's investments in Asia and Africa are estimated at $3.72 billion and $2.11 billion respectively, in addition to other investments and shares worth $12.7 billion.
The CEO added that the company's future plans will focus on the real estate sector and how to attract investors in construction field to Qatar. The company is also trying to provide facilities to foreign investors in Lusail City. It is also studying strong investment opportunities abroad in landmark areas in the center of the cities with growth expectations.
He pointed out that the company benefited from the unjust siege on Qatar as all the institutions started working together and laws were in place to promote foreign investments. The materials needed for the market, which were supplied through the siege countries, were directly imported by the state from the primary sources and anyway the blockading countries were acting as just agents.
On the company's investments in the siege countries, Al Buainain said that the company has no investments in the siege countries, but some siege countries have investments in Lusail while Diar treats them like the rest of investors in Lusail.
Concluding his interview with Lusail, the CEO of Qatari Diar denied that the company disposed its assets in some countries around the world, pointing out that sales were done only when the investment reaches its peak, and then the company sells it to invest in a sector or in another country.
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