Qatar set to be among fastest growing construction markets globally: BMI

Qatar will emerge as one of the fastest growing construction markets on a global basis, BMI Research said and it forecasts an annualised average sector expansion of 14.1% out to 2022.

“Despite potential headwinds stemming from the decline in regional political relations, the outlook for Qatar's construction market remains bright,” BMI Research said in a report.According to the Fitch Group company, there are numerous large-scale infrastructure projects underway in preparation of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “This includes not only stadium and other non-residential construction, but also entails significant investment in the expansion of the country's road and rail network, as well as other infrastructure capacity necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the World Cup. “More broadly, the government has also committed to the improvement of greater health and education services and is keen to develop the tourism market, creating a wide range of opportunities in the construction sector,” BMI Research said.“Investor confidence levels remain high and public spending capacity is expansive, making this one of the most attractive markets in the region,” it said. The report noted Mena’s construction sector will outperform other global regions over the next five years.The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will continue to lead the world with respect to construction sector growth over the short-term, with BMI projecting annualised average growth of 6.9% from 2018 to 2022. In a global context, this places Mena above second-placed Sub-Saharan Africa, where growth will average 6.75% over the same time period, and substantially above last-placed Latin America, where growth will average 2.6%.On the sharp divergence within Mena, BMI said, “Despite Mena possessing a number of standout infrastructure markets with respect to sector growth, the region simultaneously possesses a number of growth laggards, largely down to the myriad security risks that continue to afflict parts of the region. In particular, BMI has highlighted Libya and Yemen in this regard, with both facing a protracted period of civil strife that will see construction sector growth in each depressed over the near term. BMI forecasts reflect its lack of optimism in a political reconciliation at any point over 2018 and 2019, with Yemen’s construction sector forecast to contract by an average of 3.4% and Libya’s by 7.8% in this timeframe, rates which render both countries among the worst global performers in terms of construction sector growth.