Abstract
Qatar is a small country in terms of population, but it is one of the world' s
largest water consumers on a
per capita basis. More than half of the
country' s water goes to the agricultural sector, but increasing
demand is
coming from the country' s growing urban population.
It is a country with
limited and declining groundwater resources and the state is therefore
investing
heavily in desalination plants. It has one of the longest
standing programmes in the Middle East and so
has garnered much experience
in the sector.
Much of the expansion in Qatar' s desalination programme is
being achieved through independent water
and power projects (IWPP). The
largest of these is the Ras Girtas project currently under construction in
the Ras Laffan industrial complex. A further IWPP is said to be under
consideration.
The country has been open to foreign investment for several
years and is regarded as a relatively safe
investment destination, with
major international companies currently active in the sector. The
US$3.35bn
Ras Girtas project managed to achieve its funding goals in
mid-2008, despite the already rocky state of
international capital
markets, indicating investor confidence.
Qatar will need to build on this
reputation to attract more funding and technical know-how, as it will need
to expand its water supply, wastewater treatment and power capacity over the
next five years if output is
to keep ahead of growing demand.
The
Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) is the state' s main investment
vehicle in the water
and power sectors. The government holds a 43% stake
in QEWC, with the rest held by private and public
investors.
QEWC is
involved in many of the large projects taking place in the country and so is a
key partner for
other investors. It now owns and manages approaching 1bn
cubic metres per day (m3/d) of water capacity
and nearly 3GW of power
output. It also has interests in IWPPs producing some 750,000 m3/d of
water
and more than 6GW of power.
The sector is regulated by the Qatar
General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), which was
established in 2000 as an independent corporation operating on a commercial
basis. Kahramaa also owns
projects and develops strategy for the sector.
Kahramaa is also responsible for setting water tariffs, which
have been
heavily subsidised for decades. There has been some talk of making them more
representative
of costs, but little action has been taken on this front
yet.
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