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The Ministry of Economy and Commerce is participating in the second edition of the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference and Exhibition, which is being held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, from 6 to 8 April 2017 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
The participation of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce comes in line with its efforts to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors, and to inform attendees of the initiatives and investment opportunities the Ministry has put forward in order to enhance the participation of the private sector, support and encourage Qatari entrepreneurs to establish new companies, and promote a culture of entrepreneurship in Qatar.
During its participation in the exhibition at the conference, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce outlined the initiatives and investment projects that it has launched in various sectors. These include the development of investment opportunities in the sports services sector in Qatar. The sports sector will provide 30 investment opportunities for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in event management and marketing, sports development, sports facilities contracting, and venue management.
The private hospitals project is another initiative in the health sector, the, which includes the allocation of five land plots in a number of areas, including Al Shamal municipality, Ain Khalid and Abu Hamour areas. Also, the private schools project in the education sector allocates 11 land plots to the private sector with an area of 15,000 square meters in the municipalities of Al Daayen, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan and Al Khor.
In the tourism sector, the Ministry briefed investors about the transformation of the former Doha Exhibition Center into a modern and integrated entertainment city. In relation to food security projects, the Ministry is reviewing investment opportunities it has proposed for the establishment of three floating fish farming projects in the northern region of the state and a shrimp farming project in the coastal region of Al Arish.
The Ministry also participated in panel discussions as part of the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference and Exhibition. Mr. Saud bin Abdullah Al Attiyah, Director of Economic Policies and Research Department at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, spoke in a panel discussion about the best means to manage the supply chain in small and medium enterprises. He highlighted Qatar’s readiness to implement the second phase of the National Development Strategy 2017-2022, in particular policies pertaining to economic development.
He added that Qatar is characterized by an integrated and advanced infrastructure, which allows small and medium-sized enterprises to play an important role in supporting the growth of the Qatari economy in the upcoming period, as the public sector plans to provide investment opportunities worth more than 20 billion US dollars to private investors.
Mr. Al Attiyah highlighted a first-of-its-kind initiative in the State of Qatar that involves the development and localization of supply chains in the sports sector through the involvement of local small and medium enterprises by offering promising investment opportunities to the private sector. Mr. Al Attiyah said the initiative represents a pilot project that could be implemented in other economic sectors.
The Ministry identified a number of investment opportunities with high competitive value and high returns on investment, such as event management and sports marketing, sports development, stadium construction, stadium management and maintenance, in addition to promising investment opportunities in sports equipment and clothing, and sports tourism. A total of 83 investment opportunities worth approximately 47 billion Qatari riyals have been identified.
The Ministry also outlined the challenges facing the Qatari private sector and identified possible solutions, including the establishment of the Sports Business Park and the registration and pre-qualification window for the sports sector for all stakeholders in the government sector.
More than 3000 visitors and 25 governmental and semi-governmental organizations participated in the first edition of the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference and Exhibition last year, which resulted in the creation of 450 employment opportunities worth 3 billion riyals, in addition to contracts worth about 111 million riyals for small and medium enterprises.
The annual conference aims to provide a platform for communication between major companies, government and semi-government agencies, and small and medium-sized companies to familiarize them with investment opportunities and to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors in Qatar.