Qatar’s building standards need an overhaul and the Qatar Specifications and Metrology Authority (QSMA) is working towards improving the country’s building code, according to a news report.

Rashed Al Musalam, director of the QSMA’s construction department, told the Gulf Times that his department was working on a project to modify the current building code. “We recently visited Singapore to study their building code... I think we have a serious problem with our current building code,” he said. “We have been working on it for one year and next month a proposal will be submitted to the Public Works Authority.”
The report also quoted Sheikh Ali bin Hamad bin Khaled, head of the Hamad bin Khaled Group, as saying that Qatari construction standards were “full” of contradictions. “Standards should be more specific since ambiguity creates disputes between contractors and consultants,” he said.