Umm Salal a 'viable option' for industrial, construction ventures

Umm Salal town, located to the north of Doha, is fast emerging as a favoured destination for those wanting to set up different kinds of industrial units, it is learnt.

This trend is being driven by favourable conditions such as 'availability of land, good roads and reasonable rents,' sources told Gulf Times.

A growing number of entrepreneurs, especially those with businesses related to the construction sector, are reportedly evincing interest in setting up units in the Umm Salal industrial area.

Operators of industrial units say a number of factories/workshops dealing with works such as fabrication, manufacture of grilles, galvanising and cladding, among others, are coming up in the Umm Salal area.

The town is expected to host more new industrial units of different kinds in the coming years, they point out.

A number of entrepreneurs are also said to be considering shifting their existing units from the Doha Industrial Area to Umm Salal due to various factors.

Asked about the reasons behind this, the entrepreneurs say Umm Salal has better roads than the Doha Industrial Area, and transportation costs and rents of industrial sheds are also lower.

For vehicles carrying raw materials to manufacturing units, travelling to Umm Salal is easier as roads there are much better than the crater-filled ones found in the Industrial Area, they argue.

Not just industrial units, Umm Salal is also emerging as a destination of choice for companies planning to set up workers' housing facilities, it is found.

Confirming this, some of the entrepreneurs said setting up labour camps in Umm Salal is less expensive than in the Industrial Area.

"We shifted our workers' accommodation to Umm Salal from the Doha Industrial Area sometime ago. Rents in Umm Salal continue to be much lower than in the latter," said a camp manager of a contracting firm.

The firm's accommodation houses nearly 1,000 workers.

He stressed that the availability of "cheaper" land for building camps - as compared to the Industrial Area - was driving many entrepreneurs to consider Umm Salal as a viable option.

The ongoing construction of a workers' city in the northern town will also help promote industrial ventures there in the coming days, the sources feel.

Such developments and the resulting growth in population have also prompted residents to seek the introduction of facilities, such as a workers' clinic and money exchange houses in Umm Salal.