Qatar’s building permits 36% higher amid signs post-World Cup slowdown ending

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Figures from Qatar’s National Planning Council showed that permits increased in both residential and non-residential construction, driven by public and private sector investments in urban development activity.

On the residential side, villas accounted for 86% (183) of all new residential building permits, followed by apartment buildings which increased 13% (28 permits). Other residential permits increased by 1%.

In the non-residential building sub-sector, it was industrial buildings like factories and workshops that accounted for the biggest share of new permits, at 39% (a total of 22 permits), followed by service and infrastructure buildings with 28% (16 permits), then mosques at 16% (9 permits).

The rise in permits came as Qatar pursues its longstanding Vision 2030 programme, that aims to make the Gulf state into an advanced society with a high standard of living for its people.

Qatar’s construction sector experienced a slowdown in major projects following a boom as it constructed venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but is expected to pick up again between now and 2030.

Turner & Townsend’s Qatar Market Intelligence report for Q3 2023 predicted that the construction industry would grow at a 9.5% compound annual growth rate from 2023 until the end of the decade.