Utilities

As Qatar’s population and economy have expanded in recent years, demand for utilities has also been increasing rapidly. Power and water consumption have recorded average growth rates of 10.4% and 7.7% a year, respectively, over the last half-decade, according to the country’s main utilities authority, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa). Such growth has prompted the government to pursue a range of expansion projects to raise capacity, many of them with foreign and private sector help, from pilot solar power projects to a large new power and water plant under way at Umm Al Houl. The drop in oil prices, meanwhile, is unlikely to severely hamper development of the sector, which has strong state backing and is supported by commitments in Qatar National Vision 2030 to provide first-rate public services – something it is doing increasingly via public-private partnerships.

This chapter contains an interview with Khalid Mohammed Jolo, CEO, Nebras Power.