The strength of Qatar’s economy is once again acknowledged by a global institution. The World Bank has noted that Qatar’s economy is projected to grow by 1.5 percent in 2020 and 3.2 percent in 2021. It shows the proactive steps taken by the government are steering the country in the right direction. Qatar is the only GCC country expected to post fiscal surpluses for all years of the forecasted (2019, 2020 and 2021) period.
Country’s surplus is forecast to rise from 1.3 percent of GDP in 2019 to 2.8 percent in 2021. The country was also able to record a fiscal surplus in 2018, which was underpinned by expenditure restraint. Earlier, The International Monetary Fund adjusted the GDP growth projections to 2.8 percent for 2020 from 2 percent in 2019. The state budget for 2020 was announced which forecasted a budget surplus of QR500m, amidst a continued conservative oil price estimate of $55 a barrel. Expenditure in major projects has been budgeted at QR90bn of which infrastructure projects accounted for the largest share.
Qatar was also ranked first in the Arab world and seventh globally out of 128 countries at the Global Finance Safety index for 2019. The Barzan Gas Project will boost production by 2 billion cubic feet per day to a total of 11 billion cubic feet per day, a modest but significant addition to Qatar’s total gas production, which reached 176 billion cubic feet per day in 2018.
The $10.3bn project is designed to extract gas from Qatar’s massive North Field via both onshore and offshore facilities. According to World Bank, the new production will go toward meeting the country’s rising power requirements, including for desalination plants, Hamad International Airport and the Hamad Port. In addition to gas, the plant will produce about 6,000 barrels per day of plant condensate, 7,500 barrels per day of butane, 10,500 barrels per day of propane, 22,000 barrels a day of field condensate, and 34,000 barrels per day of ethane to be used as a feedstock for Qatar’s growing petrochemical industry.
The government has also prepared a new $16.4bn investment program targeting infrastructure and real estate, to be implemented over the next four years. These developments should support economic activity, particularly in the non-oil sector. All these achievements reflect Qatar’s rising status at a regional and global level.
