Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) is inviting business owners to apply for a license to take their show on the road next year.

In a statement this week, the MEC said it is seeking 12 vendors to operate food trucks, conduct service repairs and operate mobile beauty salons in Qatar.

Such trucks will be either driven by people and used for selling goods or services on streets, roadsides or other public places.

Five of the licenses will go toward food-related activities. Four will be for maintenance and repair, such as plumbing and electrical work, and three for beauty and tailoring services.

Currently, Burgeri is the only food truck operating in Qatar. The Museum of Islamic Art previously floated the idea of adding a food truck concept to its park, but this never came to pass.

Applications for MEC’s licenses will open on Jan. 1 for one month. A public draw of qualified applicants will be held and winners will be announced the following week.

Requirements

The MEC said the move was part of efforts to boost the private sector. However, there are lots of prerequisites to applying.

Applicants will already need to have a commercial registration (CR). They are also required to obtain a road permit from the Traffic Department and health certificates from the Ministry of Public Health.

Food trucks will also need Civil Defense and Ministry of Municipality and Environment approvals.

Once licensed, the vendors will only be allowed to conduct one type of business. They must also keep away from schools, hospitals and mosques.

They should also keep a distance of at least 50m from a shop doing the same business.

The application form can be found here and emailed to [email protected].

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