Qatar's $1.17bn energy upgrade

A major overhaul is needed

As part of Qatar's massive infrastructure investment, the emirate has signed contracts worth US$1.17 billion in order to boost its power output and upgrade its networks in order to meet future demand from its population and businesses.

In order to cope with the current infrastructure boom and future growth, the new deal will see the construction of 18 new substations, the upgrade of 11 others and a 400kV substation being built to support GCC power interconnection project.

The renovation of Qatar's electrical grid is a vital necessity as the country has one of the highest electric and water consumption in the world. While this is a desire to make the emirate more sustainable in the future, present demands call for an immediate upgrade.

High demand

With such high demand and the added bane of high consumption, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation have pledged that they will aim to provide efficient and high quality services to cater for the ever-increasing industrial demand.

It is a major concern; last year Qatar's water consumption per capita was 675.5 litres - higher than the US and a eight percent increase from the year before. Demand for electricity also saw a massive increase, going up by 14 percent from 2008 to 2009.

Such increases are incredible considering the emirate's size and unless major overhauls are done to the electrical network, there are fears that Qatar could see major power shortages of around 300 to 350 megawatts (MW) from late 2012 without an upgrade.

Deals for the upgrade have thus far been awarded to Siemens Consortium Germany, India, Qatar and Hyosung Corporation, Korea.

Major cable renovation is also needed with the installation of 220km of new cables and more than 85km new overhead line planned by Qatar's Electricity Transmission Network. The cabling project deals have been won by Mitsubishi, Japan and Siemens Ltd, India, while the overhead line project was awarded to NCC, Saudi Arabia.

Qatar is currently in the middle of a major construction boom, despite the Dubai debt crisis still affecting many emirates in the region. Last year, over 18,000 building permits were awarded in Qatar while the economic growth has seen 120,000 new vehicles registered on the roads.

Relevant articles:

Qatar and Saudi Arabia's road investment | Work begins on Qatar's epic rail project |Could 'green roofing' help to keep buildings cool?

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: