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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
The United Development Company (UDC) will sign agreements for building a big hospital and an international school at The Pearl-Qatar within two months, the company's chief executive officer has said.
Talking to Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the company's annual general assembly meeting in Doha on Monday, UDC President and Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Jassim al Othman said the company was in the final stages of selecting companies to work on these projects.
"We have shortlisted the companies and the final names will be announced soon. Big hospital and school brands are expected to be involved in these projects," he said.
Othman said the new facilities would cater to the growing population of The Pearl-Qatar Island, which has increased from 19,000 in 2015 to 24,000 in 2016.
Once the man-made island is fully developed, its population would reach up to 60,000.
"We rolled out the Phase 1 of the company's five-year business plan in 2016. We have accelerated the development of The Pearl-Qatar and attracted more residents and investors to the island, thereby increasing its residential and commercial occupancy," he said.
Othman said UDC would go ahead with its original plan to build more than 60 towers as the demand for residential units at The Pearl Qatar was high in spite of the general uncertainty in the financial sector.
Besides, he said, the company would soon start work on developing 10 prototype villas in Giardino Village.
"We are targeting two new areas, Viva Bahriya and Giardino Village, to be the company's focus in the coming year as both these areas have calm atmosphere suitable for families," he said.
Othman also revealed that UDC would be investing QR1.2 billion to further develop the infrastructure.
The company is accelerating the development of residential areas, increasing the number of new commercial outlets and allocating necessary resources for real estate, infrastructure development, hospitality and property management, he said.
Othman said UDC was also looking for opportunities to develop similar projects like The Pearl Qatar in other parts of the country.
