Govt dept eyes Barwa City
Originally published in Gulf Times on March 4, 2010
Negotiations are going on for the wholesale takeover of the mega Barwa City by a government department, Barwa City general manager Khalid al-Nasr told Gulf Times yesterday.
The 2.7mn sqm Barwa City is one of the biggest projects in Qatar. Phase 1, where work is around 40% completed, alone costs QR7.3bn, while an “even bigger” Phase 2 is being studied.
“At this point I can tell you that it is a Qatar-based organisation and is a government entity,” al-Nasr said of the party which is in talks for the takeover of the city.
According to him, if the negotiations succeed, Barwa will be handing over the project in phases as they are completed.
Phase 1 (around 1mn sq m) of Barwa City will have 128 apartment buildings with three types (A,B,C) of units offering three-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio apartments respectively to 25,000 residents.
When asked about rents, al-Nasr said: “They are still being discussed but residents will get great-quality housing at affordable rates.”
A three-bedroom apartment, according to him, is expected to be rented out for QR5,000 and QR6,000. The construction cost of Phase 1 is estimated at QR5bn while the amenities are expected to cost an additional QR1.5bn.
The main contract for Phase 1 is being carried out by Germany-based Bilfinger Berger and the work is expected to be completed in Q4 of 2011.
The completion of the first residential building at the Barwa City was marked yesterday with an event called Bergfest 2010 at the work site, off Abu Hamour.
Bilfinger Berger hosted a reception featuring music, live entertainment, Qatari and German food to mark the milestone.
“Today we marked the historic achievement of delivering the first house to our client Barwa,” Bilfinger Berger Qatar managing director Thomas Stiegler said.
He thanked sub-contractors and thousands of workers hailing from 26 countries. Bergfest is a traditional German celebration that is marked when a roof (berg) of a construction project is completed.
Speaking to Gulf Times, Stiegler said building A44 was handed over to Barwa. “Over 50% of all the houses are completed,” he said.
As Published
