Qatar has awarded a total of 35 mega contracts with a combined value of around $27.5 billion in the first half of 2013, with a further $29 billion worth in the pipeline for the second half of this year.

The contracts expected to be awarded in the second half would put this year’s combined value of  contracts  at $56.5 billion, which is more than double the value of contracts awarded in 2012, noted an economic update on Qatar issued by National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

In terms of the value, the total awarded contracts in the first half reflects a 30 per cent increase compared to the value of all the contracts awarded in 2012 full-year, the report added. The high-value contracts tendered during the first half of 2013 are primarily transportation and construction-related, including tunnelling for Doha Metro and commencement of the Barwa Al Khor real estate development.

The value of the tunnelling work contract is an estimated $12.3 billion, while the real estate development project is approximately $9.9 billion.

“The package of contracts associated with the local roads and drainage programme that is managed by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is likely to be the main focus of project activity (in the second half of the year ),” said Omar Al Nakib, senior analyst at NBK.

According to the economic update, Qatar’s projects market has been driven by the twin targets of national development and infrastructure construction associated specifically with the World Cup in 2022.

Following completion of Qatar’s massive hydrocarbon investment programme, which culminated in the final expansion of LNG capacity in 2011, as part of the National Development Strategy (NDS), efforts are under way to diversify and stimulate the country’s non-hydrocarbon economy. Outstanding projects in Qatar are predominantly construction, transportation and industrial sector-related.

The NBK analyst noted NDS has earmarked $225 billion in development spending (2011-16), of which $150 billion is to be borne by the government and state-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP). The private sector, along with other public entities, is expected to finance the remaining portion of approximately $100 billion.

GDP figures released by the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) show that the construction sector was especially buoyant during the first quarter of the year, growing by 11.7 per cent year-on-year and 6.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter.