DOHA: The Barwa Financial District (BFD), currently under construction in the West Bay area, is to become Qatar Petroleum's headquarter complex.
Barwa Real Estate (Barwa), Qatar's s leading listed property development company, has entered into a framework agreement with QP. Barwa will develop its iconic 696,000 sq m. development project and upon completion, ownership of the development will be tranfered to QP. Barwa anticipates to complete the project under the existing construction and project management arrangements, and Qatar Petroleum is expected to commence to exploit the development by 2014.
The framework agreement was signed at Qatar Petroleum Headquarters here yesterday by Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Group, and the Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, who is also QP Chairman and Managing Director.
The deal will see Barwa Real Estate delivering a turnkey scheme to Qatar Petroleum, enabling QP to commence operations with immediate effect from the first day of delivery.
The Barwa Financial District design is inspired by elements of the local Qatari culture and heritage, which is conceptualized to create a central hub and meet the needs for both local and international businesses in Doha with Grade-A office space, solid infrastructure, state-of-the-art technology, and parking facilities for more than five thousand vehicles.
The district in this group of 10 towers average 21 to 36 floors and will occupy a prominent position in the West Bay area of Doha. Crowning the Barwa Financial District is its 50 storey high tower which is well on its way to become one of Doha landmark sights and an icon of the city's skyline. BFD will be among the first certified sustainably designed developments in the Middle East.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Al Sada told reporters that QP has been trying to locate somewhere within Doha with its own headquarters and "now at last we got an opportunityavailed by Barwa," he said. "We have been negotiating to get it in the heart of Doha. We found that the district's size as well as its location suits our requirements."
He added that with little modification required which was undertaken by Barwa, QP found it fitting its requirement in terms of location and size. "That is why we started the negotiation which culminated with this agreement."
QP is planning to use the district as the corporate centre for general oeprations, administration and financial activities with all QP offices spread around town to be accommodated at the district. "This is the whole idea," said Dr. Al Sada. "In fact we have already received the drawings and all the specifications and have already allocated different departments to different buildings. We found the area fitting in terms of size as well as location."
As for the salient features of the development, the area will be home to nine towers and a hotel with a total built-up area of around 692,000 sq.m in an area of around 71,000 sq.m.
© The Peninsula 2011
