O N T H E G R O U N D : Q AtA r The World Cup has kicked off some major retail development

The announcement in December 2010 that Qatar would play host to the 2022 FIFA World Cup was greeted as a victory for the Arab world, marking the first time that the popular sporting event would take place in that region. This was also seen as a huge win for the tiny, oil-rich emirate on the Persian Gulf, sparking government spending on a new harbor project, a high-speed rail service and a state-of-the-art airport, and led to a boom in retail space. All this is in addition to the roughly dozen stadiums planned to accommodate all those football (soccer) fans. Qatar is a big story, with $200 billion in infrastructure and many other economic initiatives in addition to the World Cup, said Phil McArthur, managing director of McArthur & Co., who dubs what is now afoot Qatars mall boom. McArthur says that three shopping centers are under construction, with some 1 million square feet of gross leasable area, and that an additional 10 to 15 centers, each at some 300,000 square feet, are in the pipeline for completion by 2016. Others, too, foresee a wider array of choices for Qataris. The retail market is set to expand significantly between 2013 and 2016, with several new malls increasing retail stock by over 200 percent, said Mark Proudley, associate director of consulting and research at the Doha, Qatar office of DTZ. But progress may be spotty. Gharafa, a northern section of Doha, was supposed to see two malls operated by Ezdan Real Estate Co. open this year: the Ezdan Mall, and the nearby Al Gharafa Mall (or Gulf Mall). But the Ezdan Malls doors opened in April, before its Tim Hortons caf and WHSmith bookstore were finished, and at press time the Gulf Mall was still not ready. Proudley says the Gulf Mall and another ambitious project in Doha, the Markhiya Mall, will probably be delayed into 2014. Qatar will face logistical challenges in delivering all the proposed projects, Proudley said. There business sectors that construction works have not commenced as quickly as initially anticipated. However, this time since the announcement has been utilized to ensure [that] a coordinated approach is adopted to develop an integrated infrastructure system and to avoid delays as witnessed in previous projects. The Qatari government has reportedly responded with management training for officials responsible for development projects. Whether this will work in the long run remains to be seen. The short-term outlook for Qatars retail market already looks positive. Demand for retail space has been outpacing supply, and vacancy rates have been low, according to a first-quarter report from Tanween, a Qatar development-management and consulting firm. Retail growth in the country could increase by nearly 70 percent by 2016, thanks in part to a rising population, according to Alpen Capital Investment Bank (Qatar). Qatar has one of the highest population growth rates in the Middle EastNorth Africa region, according to the International Monetary Fund. The population, which numbered about 250,000 in the late 1980s and stands at about 1.8 million now, is projected to reach nearly 4 million by 2022. The IMF cites Qatar as having the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Even Qatars infants have a per-capita income over $100,000, as The New York Times put it. Two years ago the Qatar government gave a 60 percent wage increase to all nationals employed in public service and raised the salaries of military officers by 120 percent. Meanwhile tourism has been increasing as well, accounting for about 3 percent of GDP in 2011 and nearly 13 percent in 2012, with projections for an increase of roughly 6 percent per year through 2022. With or without the World Cup, there is enough domestic demand to ensure that retail developments will prosper. This is just as well, as some in the soccer world are displeased about the prospect of playing in the World Cup in Qatar during the summer, when Doha temperatures typically exceed 100 degrees. And summer is when players in the sports professional leagues are traditionally on their break. The country will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather, said Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, chairman of Qatars World Cup committee. But Gianni Infantino, general secretary of the Union of European Football Associations, wants the 2022 World Cup played in the winter. In any case, FIFA says it will put off any decision about 2022 until after 2014. But regardless of when the games finally do start and the players take the field, the retail boom in Qatar has already kicked off. Spencer Rumsey
DOHA, QATAR
PHOT O: SOpHIE JAM Es / SHUT T ER sT OCK .COM

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