New steps have recently been taken to enable Qatar to become the trade hub of the GCC region. One of the most important of these is the passing of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) law, which will allow 100% non-Qatari investment in all sectors by the end of 2018.
Mr Cagri Kurbal, owner of architectural materials distributor Merger Mimari, says:"This will definitely help develop Qatar's independent economy via an industrial revolution. Economic development can never be considered without the development of a proper industry, as it is the lifeblood of any economy."
Qatar Shortlisted
Since the announcement of the draft of the new FDI law, there has already been some sudden global attention. Mr Kurbal Says:"This is understandable because many large corporate organisations cannot technically locate in a territory in which a certain amount of company shares belong to them. This is due to a their Corporate Law, which was set decades ago. However with this new legislation, more and more companies around the world are now adding Qatar to their shortlist for their next destination of investment."
The New Industrial Construction Trend
Mr Kurbal believes that in the beginning of next year many of the global companies who already have liaison offices in Doha will start to extend their business entities, shifting from their tower offices to factory buildings in industrial areas or trade zones on the outskirts of the towns. He says:"This will implicitly affect the features of the buildings being built in Qatar in the following years. We will witness a new building trend, shifting from residential and hospitality buildings to industrial working structures and factories. Instead of more architectural and aesthetical aspects, these new formations will require optimum functionality."
Building Starts with Materials
Such functionality must be integral to these buildings, and start with the very materials from which they are built. This is something which Merger Mimari has extensive experience in, as Mr Kurbal explains:"We have contributed to the building of some of the most complex industrial buildings, such as the Turkcell Data Center and Akbank Data Center, in Turkey, with project budgets of almost half a billion USD. Our award-winning work on such projects demonstrates our experience in using the most suitable and effective materials; knowledge which we believe will successfully transfer to the building of Qatar's industry in the following years."