The first phase of a QR1.5 billion complex of used car showrooms, vehicle rental facilities and repair workshops in Qatar will be overseen by the INSHA Contracting and Trading Co., QNA reports.
The Qatar-based company has been awarded a nearly QR1 billion tender from Barwa Real Estate to begin bringing the Motor City (Madinat Al Muwatar)Â project to life.
It is tasked with building 60 car showrooms, 176 residential apartments for employees and 10 commercial shops and workshops, work that should take about 12 months, QNA said.
The project infrastructure will also include three electrical substations, internal roads, potable water, firefighting services, irrigation, sewage, storm water removal and CCTV networks, and all related services, according to the newswire.
A Woqod petrol station is also planned. According to its website, INSHA has been contracted to build several Woqod stations around Qatar, as well as mosques, schools and playgrounds.
Previously, developers said a hotel, insurance companies, government services, banks and driving schools would also be a part of the Motor City development. These will likely come in later stages, however.
Revised timeline
In May, Barwa’s CEO said the company planned to build the development, located in Rawdat Rashid just off the Salwa Road, in stages.
Salman Mohamad al-Muhannadi added that the company was eyeing a mid-2017 opening for the first phase.
Barwa had previously estimated that it would break ground on the complex in 2011.
In 2014, however, it scaled back plans for the development, reducing the size of Motor City by more than 40 percent.
At the time, officials said the company would rent some 1.15 million square meters from the government for the project.
Used cars sales do brisk business in Qatar, and a one-stop shop like the one envisioned for Motor City got a positive reception when it was first announced.
However, it is unclear how robust the market will continue to be when the project comes online, as car sales have fallen flat over the past year.
Thoughts?
