Doha: Meinhardt Group, one of the top engineering firms globally, is bullish on Qatar’s future growth. The Group, which is headquartered in Singapore and has 52 offices globally, aims to play a crucial role in Qatar’s future growth. Speaking to The Peninsula, Omar Shahzad, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Meinhardt Group said that the Group has plans to expand its operations in Qatar.
“Qatar is a very important market for the Meinhardt Group. We have worked on many landmark projects in Qatar. Anything you look at here, whether it is rail, aviation, stadiums, roads, beautification of roads, Qatar has got requirements for everything. A lot is happening here at once. This country is trying to leapfrog its current development standards very quickly. There is a huge amount of opportunity for people like us,” said Omar Shahzad.
Considering the huge infrastructure projects in the country and growing requirements, the Meinhardt Group has made Qatar a regional hub for its operations.
“Because of World Cup, project sizes are very large here and they need to be delivered very quickly. And because of that challenge, I obviously prioritized our efforts here in 2019 and made Qatar our regional hub. We have brought in more people and we plan to do so in the future as well,” Omar added.
Omar believes in the long-term growth potential of Qatar and said that the country would continue to witness high economic growth beyond FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
“We are trying to bring more people here because we see this huge amount of growth opportunity in Qatar even beyond the world. Qatar has a long-term development plan and that’s reflected in the vision 2030. There are still a number of metro projects that will come up. There are plans to further expand the Hamad International Airport,” said Omar.
He said that Qatar is well prepared to host the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Qatar will host one of the greatest FIFA World Cup tournaments in history.
“I believe Qatar is prepared really well for FIFA World Cup. If you look at some of its key infrastructure assets, they have been built well in time. The security situation here is very good. Qatar has had experience in hosting many big, high-profile events and conferences,” he added.
Omar Shahzad is the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Meinhardt Group since 2013
He said that Qatar plans to become a major regional hub for tourism, education and culture. There are a number of upcoming hospitality projects that will be world-class. “So I think there is still plenty of growth to come,” he added.
The Meinhardt Group has established itself in Qatar as a reputed and trusted entity as it has taken part in many mega infrastructure projects. This successful track record instills additional trust among its partners and strengthens its image in the country.
“I think relationships are key when people see that you have developed you have delivered projects before. Now there is a comfort level with the people that we have worked with,” he added.
He said that expanding business in the Middle East was a natural extension to its Asian business. “The scale of projects here is very much similar to those we have done in Asia. All countries are addressing the infrastructure gap. Countries need to get a lot of work done in a quick span of time within the resources available. So that’s where I think a company like us can bring a lot of value to conceive these projects correctly,” Omar explained.
“We believe with our unrivaled track record in mega projects and a strong presence in the MENA region, we are in the best position to contribute positively to the successful completion of the proposed development,” said Omar.
Meinhardt Group has set up its subsidiary Meinhardt BIM Studios in Qatar, which is a BIM service provider company. At the time of its establishment around three years ago, Meinhardt BIM Studios started with a smaller but committed team of around 10-15 employees. The company has only grown stronger since then and is now involved in many major projects in Qatar.
“Now we have over 60 BIM modelers plus BIM engineers and around 120 staff in back end offices. Meinhardt BIM Studios started its operation in Qatar with Doha Metro Green Line project,” said Waqar-uz-Zaman, Director, Meinhardt BIM Studios, while talking to The Peninsula.
Meinhardt BIM Studios has praised the role of QFC in attracting companies to Qatar.
“We chose QFC to establish our new business entity in Qatar because of its seamless and fast compliance procedures. One of the main advantages of choosing QFC is that it has a dedicated client affairs team. The CA team provides expert insight and support across all aspects of the business. QFC has a customer-friendly online portal that allows its customers to complete all the procedures online without physical visits to the QFC office.
QFC gives foreign investors the confidence to own a company with 100 percent ownership. Our experience and interaction with the QFC team have been outstanding,” said Waqar.
Having spent over five years in Qatar and witnessing tremendous growth in the local economy, he strongly suggests other companies invest in Qatar.
“One of the major benefits for companies established under the QFC responsibility can be fully owned by foreign investors and don’t require a local partner. Also, QFC allows 100 percent repatriation of profits,” Waqar said.
“In the past five years, I have seen significant growth in Qatar’s economy, so other companies should also invest in Qatar and join this compelling growth. The construction sector is set to witness huge growth; there will be many opportunities in the future,” he added.
Meinhardt has become a well-known name in the field of construction and designing. The company took part in many mega projects in the past.
Waqar Uz Zaman is the Director of Meinhardt BIM studios since 2018.
“We are part of many important infrastructure projects in Qatar. We worked for the Doha Metro Green Line construction stage and the design stage of Hamad International Airport expansion projects during the initial years of Meinhardt BIM Studios. We are now working on many other vital projects in Qatar, such as The Seef Lusail, The Qetaifan Island Water Park, External works for Lusail and Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, and Bus Depot with Ashghal,” he explained.
He added that working on these projects has been a great experience. These are world-class projects. It’s not very often for a company to get a chance to work on such mega projects.
“Working on these projects has been a great experience. These are large-scale, world-class projects. It’s not very often for a company to get a chance to work on such mega projects. Very few companies got this chance to work on FIFA World Cup stadiums, Doha Metro, HIA expansion, and Qetaifan Island Waterpark projects. We are privileged to be part of such large-scale projects,” he added.
In the GCC region, Meinhardt has a presence in all the major markets. We have our offices in all middle east contourites, including Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait.
“Meinhardt Group is bullish on Qatar’s growth story, and we see a lot of growth potential in the local economy. We are in Qatar for the long term to provide BIM consultancy services for the local market.
In the future, we are planning to expand our operations in Qatar. As of now, we have 60 plus employees. We have a plan to expand our employee’s strength to 250. Our expansion plan demonstrates our trust in Qatar’s future growth.
In Meinhardt BIM Studios Qatar, we are currently offering BIM Consultancy Services, and we have the capability to provide different services to the AEC industry, including Project Management, Sustainability, real-time energy analysis, 3D laser scanning, and Computer-aided facility management (CAFM).
“We are moving towards the holistic strategy for Digital Delivery of the projects in Meinhardt. A Digital Twin can be used for visualization, documentation, adherence to codes, modeling, analysis, safety factors, and planning,” Waqar said.
A Digital Twin is a virtual model of a building that collects real-world information about the structure via sensors, drones, and other wireless technology. Digital Twins can be used to conduct tests, gain insight, or record events and experiences without impacting the built object.
“A Digital twin is a vital tool to help engineers and operators understand not only how products are performing, but how they will perform in the future. Analysis of the data from the connected sensors, combined with other sources of information, allows us to make these predictions,” he added.
Waqar said that the physical presence of the BIM team in Qatar makes MBS unique in the local market.
“We have our office and team present in Qatar, which creates an additional level of trust to our clients. Many companies in the field of BIM consultancy work through their satellite offices in other countries. It is a good idea to reduce the direct cost of BIM production, and it helped a lot during the pandemic, but it creates communication gaps between the production and site team. We still believe that physical presence on-site gives us an additional advantage of coordination between all parties, and our client feels more reliability with the presence of the BIM team at their project sites,” he added.
“Having a team at the construction site makes a huge difference. Our clients feel confident when they see our team next to their site teams. Our clients know that we will be there for them in case any issue comes up during the work,” Waqar said.
Waqar believes that growth opportunities will continue to remain in Qatar even after the FIFA world cup in 2022.
“Qatar’s government has already announced Qatar National Vision 2030, which has a roadmap of countries diversified growth. Government departments have already announced infrastructure projects beyond 2022. Qatar Free Zones Authority has also announced many initiatives to attract big companies. So the construction sector of Qatar will continue to boom even after 2022,” he added.
He said Qatar’s construction and real estate sector has much potential for growth in the coming years. The infrastructure development will continue, and the extension of the Doha metro and other large-scale projects are expected to start in the near future.
