While many Gulf states struggle to meet their power demands at home, Qatar has developed enough generating capacity to allow it to invest in projects abroad.
When the Ras Girtas power plant begins operating in April, Qatar Electricity and Water Company will have enough generating capacity to supply its growing domestic electricity demand for the next five years, Fahad al Mohannadi, the managing director of the power developer, said last month.
"We have the technical and financial capability now to bid for overseas projects," he said.
For its newest foreign venture, the companyhopes to participate in the construction of a Saudi power plant. "We have put together a joint-venture agreement, which is yet to be signed with other investors," Mr al Mohannadi said this month. He did not identify the partners.
The group plans initially to bid on the first phase of the proposed 1,500 megawatt Qurayyah project in Saudi Arabia, which is in the pre-qualification stage.
Mr al Mohannadi said the utility company was also bidding on a power project in Oman while considering additional investments in India, Turkey, South Korea and Vietnam.
Last month, he said the company had launched projects in Germany, east Asia and Syria. The Syrian power project, however, has been put on hold as that country's government reviews its strategy.
Projects in Georgia may also be on the cards. A Georgian delegation to be led by the foreign minister, Grigol Vashadze, is to visit Doha next week with the intention of signing several economic agreements, mainly in the field of energy.
Qatar has expressed interest in hydropower opportunities in the Caucasian state, a Georgian official said on Monday in Tblisi.
The Qatari utility, which is the third-largest publicly traded utility by revenue in the Middle East, is 43 per cent owned by the government of Qatar. The company posted net profit of 834.5 million rials (Dh841.6m) on revenue of 2.34 billion rials for the first nine months of last year.
Qatar's power demand has been expanding by more than 10 per cent annually in recent years, but the emirate will widen its already comfortable margin of reserve generating capacity this year. At more than 9,000mw, the country's capacity is expected to be about 47 per cent higher than last year's peak demand.
Nevertheless, Qatar's biggest power expansion lies ahead.
Officials of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, a state-owned utility that is responsible for power distribution in the emirate, said this month the country would invest 70bn rials in infrastructure projects in the next 10 years, including 30bn rials in the power sector. An additional 20bn rials would be spent to lay water pipelines.
Qatar's power demand could expand dramatically in coming years as the emirate pursues economic diversification in energy-intensive areas such as petrochemicals and heavy industry and gears up to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Officials of Qatar Electricity and Water have predicted that the number of hotels in Qatar would double this decade. The emirate is also expected to build residential and commercial developments and a railway system.
Unlike other Gulf states, which even now face summer power cuts, Qatar has few worries about fuelling its power projects. The emirate shares the world's biggest gasfield with Iran and in recent years has aggressively developed its side of the deposit.
Several of Qatar's GCC neighbours, including the UAE, Kuwait and Oman, import gas to meet domestic demand.
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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Company%20profile
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Rebel%20Moon%20-%20Part%20One%3A%20A%20Child%20of%20Fire
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THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners