Qatar to spend $22bn on water infrastructure works

Qatar is to spend billions of dollars as part of its five-year strategy to develop drainage, sewage and flood prevention infrastructure.

The government-backed Public Works Authority (Ashghal) will invest more than QAR81 billion ($22.3 billion) to implement various infrastructure projects, the state-run Qatar News Agency reported.

These projects include the development of citizens’ lands, government buildings, sewage networks and strategic outfalls.  

Ashghal will implement advanced sewage and rainwater drainage projects, including building strategic tunnels, pumping and treatment stations and home connections to reduce the risk of flooding and improve the national network’s efficiency.

The strategic outfalls project, viewed as one of the most important, will deal with draining rainwater in the north and south of Doha. The aim is to reuse the water for irrigation and cooling purposes. 

The government will launch the main tunneling works this year, followed by sub-tunneling in early 2026.

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The potential financial impact of flooding was highlighted last year by the record rainfall that hit the UAE and parts of Oman. Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, said it booked $150 million of losses from the April 2024 flooding in Dubai, making it one of the company’s top five loss-events globally last year.

Ashghal plans to implement its new projects through public-private partnerships (PPP), including infrastructure development for more than 5,500 residential plots.

Additionally, the government entity is considering tendering the second phase of the wastewater treatment plant project in Al Wakra and Al Wukair under a PPP framework, the statement said.