The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme is necessary for the delivery of various projects in different sectors, Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani has said.
According to Sheikh Khalifa, PPPs also play a significant role in providing real opportunities for the private sector in the implementation of major projects. PPPs also enhance the private sector’s role as the government’s “genuine partner” in the development process, he stressed.
Sheikh Khalifa said Qatar has been active in issuing economic legislations and laws to stimulate the economy, streamline the business environment, and enhance the country’s investment climate.
“During the past three years, Qatar issued many laws that played an important role in activating the national economy and overcoming the unjust blockade,” Sheikh Khalifa said in the latest issue of Al Moltaqa, the chamber’s monthly economic magazine.
The laws issued during siege included the Law No (21) of 2017, amending some provisions of Law No (34) of 2005 on Investment Free Zones; Law No (1) of 2019 on Regulating Non-Qatari Capital Investment in the Economic Activity; Law No (2) of 2019 on Supporting the Competitiveness of National Products and Combating Harmful Practices to them in International Trade; and Law No (16) of 2018 on the Regulation of non-Qatari Ownership and Use of Real Estate, he said.
“These laws culminated in the issuance of Law No (12) of 2020 on Organising the Partnership between the Public and Private Sectors issued by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani last May,” Sheikh Khalifa emphasised.
“The new law reflects the Wise Leadership’s interest in the private sector and supports its contribution in the State’s inclusive economic development. Indeed, this law arrived at a very important time, as Qatar continues its infrastructure projects to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and as the world is coping from the fluctuation of oil prices.
“This makes it imperative to issue a law that helps in promoting integration and co-operation between the two sectors to achieve the economic diversification in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” he continued.
Sheikh Khalifa said the PPP law emphasises the State’s trust in the private sector and in its ability to implement mega projects efficiently, “especially since the private sector has received considerable support from the State and the Wise Leadership and due to its remarkable performance during the blockade.”
Sheikh Khalifa noted that the relationship between the private and public sectors “has developed considerably” over the past years, citing many successful partnerships in different projects.
“The law sets the legislative framework governing this relationship in a way that benefits the national economy and achieves economic diversification as one of the most important pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” Sheikh Khalifa said.
