MENA Water ReviewKnowledge & Intelligence
CountriesKnowledge Hubs
Data & Tools
Live TendersMajor ProjectsMarket BriefsRegion AtlasTariffs & Cost BenchmarksOrganization DirectoryFunding LandscapeIntelligenceStoriesCalendarAbout

Markets › Qatar

Market brief

Qatar

The authorities that procure water infrastructure in Qatar, how the deals are put together, and what is in the pipeline.

Reference profile for Qatar

Overview

Qatar’s bulk water comes from independent water and power projects selling to Kahramaa under long-term agreements, at Ras Laffan, Umm Al Houl and Facility E, the last awarded in November 2024.1 2 Ashghal procures sewerage and reuse works as works and design-and-build contracts, with one sewage partnership, Al Wakra and Al Wukair, signed in 2022.3 The register tracks 19 schemes with US$ 13.9 bn of disclosed value, US$ 3.7 bn of it in projects not yet operating.4 The 2020 partnership law is codified: pre-qualification is the default, unsolicited proposals are allowed, and terms run to a maximum of 30 years.5 Its hardest term is the governing law: Qatari law applies to partnership contracts, any agreement to the contrary is void, and any other dispute mechanism needs the Prime Minister’s approval. Relief from restrictions on foreign ownership is likewise a permission rather than a right.5

Market snapshot

The commercial picture in Qatar: the scale of the economy and the water sector, the investment climate, and where the near-term activity is concentrated.

3.0 M
people (World Bank WDI, 2025) · +3.9% a year
US$ 215.6 bn
GDP (2025) · +2.9% a year
US$ 13.9 bn
disclosed value of tracked projects (major projects register)
US$ 3.7 bn
of which pipeline (projects not yet operating)

Political stability

84/100 · High

World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Political stability; higher is more stable.6

Investment climate

73/100 · High

World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Regulatory quality for private investment; higher is better.6

Key institutions

  • Ministry of MunicipalityMinistry
  • Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa)Utility

Financing & PPP

  • PPP frameworkActive (IWPPs; Ashghal sewage PPP at Al Wakra and Al Wukair, signed in 2022 under Law No. 12 of 2020, not yet in our projects register)
  • Tracked projectsUS$ 13.9 bn disclosed value in our projects register, of which US$ 3.7 bn pipeline (not yet operating)
  • Active fundersSovereign budget, project finance from JBIC, Korean export-credit agencies and Qatari banks
  • Climate adaptation planIn preparation (according to its NDC of November 2025)

Opportunities

  1. 01Reverse-osmosis expansion
  2. 02Mega-reservoir strategic storage
  3. 03Reuse for district cooling & landscaping
  4. 04Solar desalination

Key challenges

  1. 01Minimal natural freshwater
  2. 02Very high per-capita use
  3. 03Strategic storage
  4. 04Energy intensity
Sources and notes

Sources: Water use by sector and total water withdrawal: FAO AQUASTAT, 2022, FAO AQUASTAT Dissemination System, retrieved 7 October 2026. Supply by source, desalination and reuse shares: National Planning Council, Qatar Water Statistics Report 2023 (November 2024). Population and GDP: World Bank WDI, latest year (shown on each tile). Other figures: FAO AQUASTAT / national reports, latest available, approximate. Governance indicators: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (2025).

Contracting authorities

The bodies that commission, regulate and operate water infrastructure in Qatar. In Qatar, Kahramaa, a public corporation established under Law No. 10 of 2000, buys bulk water and power from independent producers under long-term agreements and runs the network;1 2 Ashghal commissions sewerage and reuse works.

How deals are structured

The framework in Qatar is Active (IWPPs; Ashghal sewage PPP at Al Wakra and Al Wukair, signed in 2022 under Law No. 12 of 2020, not yet in our projects register), the schemes we track carry US$ 13.9 bn of disclosed value, US$ 3.7 bn of it in projects not yet operating, and the funders active in the sector include Sovereign budget, project finance from JBIC, Korean export-credit agencies and Qatari banks.

In Qatar, bulk water and power come from independent water and power projects selling to Kahramaa (Ras Laffan, Umm Al Houl, Facility E), while Ashghal procures sewerage and reuse works as works and design-and-build contracts, plus one sewage public-private partnership, Al Wakra and Al Wukair, signed in 2022.3 The Finance & Economics hub sets out each model and where it has been used.

How to bid

Qatar’s partnership regime is codified and its hardest term is the governing law. Law No. 12 of 2020 provides that a partnership contract is governed by Qatari law and that any agreement to the contrary shall be void; Qatari courts have jurisdiction, and any other dispute mechanism requires the Prime Minister’s approval on the minister’s recommendation.5 A foreign sponsor prices that before anything else.

Procuring bodyThe contracting authority itself, supervised by the public-private partnership unit at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which regulates and oversees partnership projects.7 Kahramaa procures water and power; Ashghal procures public works.
RoutePre-qualification is the default, except for direct agreements or where the project business case excludes it. A consortium bids in its own name, and no member may bid separately unless the tender documents allow it.5
Unsolicited proposalsAllowed. A project may be identified by the authority or proposed by the private sector.5
Contract form and termLand allocation by lease or usufruct, build-operate-transfer, build-transfer-operate, build-own-operate-transfer, or operation and maintenance. Maximum term 30 years, extendable only with the Prime Minister’s approval.5
Contractor routeFor conventional works, Ashghal tenders are announced only through its own portal and the Ministry of Finance system, classification must be registered with the ministry’s procurement department, tender documents are released after a non-refundable fee, every bid needs a tender bond valid 120 days, bids stay valid 90 days, and the winner posts a performance bond of 10% of the contract price.8
Scope variationAshghal may vary quantities or scope by up to 20%; announced pre-tender conferences are mandatory.8
Security and financingThe project company may borrow inside or outside Qatar with the authority’s approval, secured on contractual rights and assets. No liquidation, restructuring or capital reduction without the minister’s approval, and no listing before construction completes.5
Foreign ownershipRelief is a permission, not a right: the Prime Minister may exempt a project company from restrictions on non-Qatari ownership, usufruct or lease of real estate.5
End of termThe project reverts to the state without compensation unless the contract says otherwise.5

Law No. 12 of 2020 disapplies the Tenders and Bids Law No. 24 of 2015, as amended in 2018, and the state’s fiscal system law from partnership tenders, so the older framework is the wrong place to look.5

Regulatory intelligence

RegulationStatusYearNote
Water security mega-reservoirs programmeOperational2015 onwardsStrategic storage raised from about 1.3 days of supply in 2010 to 5.2 days in 2024; phase 1 opened in December 2018.
IWPP framework (Kahramaa)Active–Umm Al Houl Facility D operating; Facility E at Ras Abu Fontas awarded in November 2024, with project financing signed on 15 January 2026.
Law No. 12 of 2020 on public-private partnershipIn force2020Governs partnership tenders and disapplies the 2015 tenders law to them; 30-year maximum term; Qatari law mandatory.
Potable-water ban for district coolingIn force—33 of 76 district cooling plants had transitioned to recycled water for cooling (NDC 3.0, 2025).
Groundwater abstraction permitsTightening2025Farm licensing against continued overdraft; Law No. 23 of 2025 on water regulates groundwater use and the criteria for digging wells.

Projects

Tracked schemes in Qatar, largest first. Each has its own page with the parties, the finance and a dated history.

Switch layer
OperationalUnder constructionIn tenderPlannedDot size follows disclosed value. Click a dot for the project page.
Sources and notes

Interactive map: switch views, hover or focus a marker, and use the +/− controls (or double-click, then drag) to zoom and pan. Geometry and data from the MENA Water Review library.

Under construction

Facility E IWPP

Seawater RO + power · US$3,700 m

Operational

Qatar Mega Reservoirs

Strategic storage · US$3,200 m

Operational

Umm Al Houl IWPP (Facility D)

MSF/RO + power · Approximately US$2,538 m total co-financing (JBIC, 15 January 2016): debt, not a published total project cost. Samsung C&T's power-plant EPC contract alone was US$1.8 bn (2015)

Operational

Ras Laffan B IWPP

Thermal MSF + power · US$900 m

Operational

Ras Laffan A IWPP

Thermal MSF + power · US$720 m

Operational

Doha North Sewage Treatment Works

Wastewater treatment + reuse · QR 2.49 bn design-and-build contract (Ashghal, February 2016), converted at QR 3.64 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2015 average); the QR 1.14 bn ten-year operate-and-maintain contract, part of the QR 3.63 bn project value, is a service contract and is not counted (TradeArabia gave US$995 m for the whole QR 3.63 bn)

Operational

Doha South Sewage Infrastructure (IDRIS)

Deep tunnel sewer · QR 2.05 bn total cost of the rescoped Doha South Sewage Infrastructure (Ashghal project page; start 2 August 2015), converted at QR 3.64 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2015 average). The 2015 IDRIS trunk-sewer awards of QR 3.212 bn (US$882 m, MEED) were suspended in July 2016 (MEED)

Operational

Ras Abu Fontas A2

Thermal MSF · US$500 m

Operational

Ras Abu Fontas A3

Seawater RO · QR 1.75 bn total cost (2017), converted at QR 3.64 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2017 average); WaterWorld gave US$500 m in 2015

Operational

Umm Al Houl Expansion

Seawater RO · About US$389 m: the project financing of the reverse osmosis expansion, which Infrastructure Finance and Investment also gives as the project cost (JBIC co-financing, financial close 28 November 2019)

Operational

Doha South Sewage Treatment Works

Wastewater treatment · QR 691.2 m total cost of the expansion works (Ashghal project page; contract from 27 June 2010), converted at QR 3.64 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2010 average); whole-plant cost not disclosed

Operational

Doha West Sewage Treatment Works

Wastewater treatment · cost not disclosed

19 tracked in total. The full set, filterable, is in the major projects register.

Track record

Contracts on record in Qatar, from the awards log and the major projects register, dated by commissioning where known.

Disclosed value by year

US$ bn of tracked awards in Qatar carrying a published value

20040.72 bn20080.9 bn20100.19 bn20151.75 bn20170.48 bn20185.74 bn20210.39 bn20243.7 bn

7 further awards in this sector have no value recorded in our register and are not in the chart.

YearProjectWinning firmsUS$ m
under constructionTSE Seasonal Storage Lagoons, Phase 1Hyundai Engineering & Construction contractorn/a
under constructionFacility E IWPPSumitomo, Shikoku Electric Power, Korea Southern Power, KIND developer3,700
2021 on lineUmm Al Houl ExpansionUmm Al Houl Power developer389
under constructionD-Line TSE Pumping Station and Transmission MainAl Jaber Engineering contractorn/a
2018 on lineQatar Mega ReservoirsConsolidated Contractors Company, Teyseer, HBK Contracting, Habtoor Leighton Group, China Gezhouba, Burhan International Contracting contractor3,200
2018 on lineUmm Al Houl IWPP (Facility D)Mitsubishi Corporation, Tokyo Electric Power Company developer2,538
2017 on lineRas Abu Fontas A3Mitsubishi Corporation, Toyo Thai Corporation contractor481
2015 on lineDoha North Sewage Treatment WorksKeppel Seghers contractor684
operatingDoha South Sewage Infrastructure (IDRIS)Bouygues Travaux Publics, UCC, QTCG, MSF Engenharia contractor563
2015 on lineRas Abu Fontas A2Mitsubishi Corporation, Toyo Thai Corporation contractor500
operatingDoha West Sewage Treatment WorksDegremont, Marubeni contractorn/a
2011 on lineRas Laffan C IWPP (Ras Girtas)ENGIE, Mitsui, Chubu Electric Power, Shikoku Electric Power developern/a
2010Doha South Sewage Treatment Works (expansion)Larsen & Toubro, Gulfar contractor190
2010 on lineRas Abu Fontas A1Fisia Italimpianti contractorn/a
2010 on lineRas Abu Fontas B2Fisia Italimpianti contractorn/a
2008 on lineRas Laffan B IWPPInternational Power, Chubu Electric Power developer900
2004 on lineRas Laffan A IWPPAES, Gulf Investment Corporation developer720
1997 on lineRas Abu Fontas BMidmac Contracting Company contractorn/a
Sources and notes

Years without a label are award years from the curated log; rows marked on line are dated by commissioning, from the projects register. Register rows without a commissioning date show their stage instead: awarded, with the year recorded, or under construction or operating, with no year. 18 rows in total for Qatar.

Repeat winners

  • Mitsubishi Corporation3 tracked awards, 1 as developer, 2 as contractor
  • Chubu Electric Power2 tracked awards, as developer
  • Fisia Italimpianti2 tracked awards, as contractor
  • Shikoku Electric Power2 tracked awards, as developer
  • Toyo Thai Corporation2 tracked awards, as contractor
Sources and notes

Firms appearing on two or more tracked awards in Qatar. For a PPP, BOT, BOO or independent water, power or sewage project the winner counted is the developer or sponsor consortium; for an EPC or works contract it is the contractor. Each consortium member is counted on its own. EPC contractors working for a developer, subcontractors and equipment suppliers are not counted, and a PPP whose developer is not recorded counts for no firm.

Pipeline & tenders

Structured procurements and live tenders in Qatar, drawn from the same review that maintains the pipeline tracker.

Pipeline & awards

Tenders

Full PPP pipeline & awards Where to find live tenders

Prices

What households pay

Household tariff (US$/m³)Cost of supply (US$/m³)YearSource
$1.21 – 2.03not published2015Gulf Times, 13 October 2015; Ashghal, 13 December 2020, for the wastewater fee; Kahramaa tariff page

QR 4.40/m³ up to 20 m³, QR 5.40 from 20 to 50 m³, QR 6.40 from 50 to 100 m³ and QR 7.40 from 100 to 150 m³: the slab schedule Kahramaa applied from September 2015, as reported at the time, replacing a flat QR 4.40. The report gives no billing period and no rate above 150 m³. Since the January 2021 bill a wastewater fee of 20% of the water bill applies to non-Qatari homes, which lifts the range to about $1.45 – 2.44; Qatari homes do not pay it. Ashghal describes the fee as 20% of Kahramaa's monthly water bill. Kahramaa's tariff page lists residential flat and villa categories; the figures above are from the 2015 schedule. Converted at QR 3.64 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2015 average).

Residential tariffs, and the cost of supply where a utility publishes it, are kept in one place for the whole region so the comparison holds: a tariff means little without the cost it is measured against.

Tariffs & cost benchmarks Desalination bid prices

Watch list

No dated items have been carried forward for Qatar yet. This section fills from the monthly briefings as they are published.

Sources

8 references

Project, pipeline and tender records are compiled from procurer announcements, lender disclosures and trade reporting; each project page carries its own source and the date it was last checked. Institutions are from the decision-maker directory. Economic and water indicators are cited on the reference profile.

  1. Kahramaa, laws and regulations (archived), listing Law No. 10 of 2000 establishing the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation.
  2. MEED, “Kahramaa awards Facility E contract”, 22 November 2024.
  3. Ashghal, “Ashghal signs contract of Al Wakrah and Al Wukair STW via public-private partnership”, 2022.
  4. MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
  5. Law No. 12 of 2020 regulating public-private partnerships (Qatar), Eversheds Sutherland translation. A translation, not the Arabic original.
  6. Kaufmann & Kraay, Worldwide Governance Indicators (World Bank), 2025 update: political-stability and regulatory-quality scores, 0–100, shown in the market snapshot. worldbank.org/wgi.
  7. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Qatar), public-private partnership programme.
  8. Ashghal (Public Works Authority, Qatar), tender participation terms.

Numbered references are linked from the superscript markers in the text. Figures without a marker come from the sources above as compiled in the site methodology.

Sources and notes

Primary references: Kahramaa and Ashghal; JBIC on Facility E financing; Qatar NDC 3.0 on district cooling; QNA (June 2026) on Law No. 23 of 2025.