On the occasion of the three-year anniversary of Qetaifan Projects, the company fully owned by Katara Hospitality and the exclusive real estate developer of Qetaifan Island North, and the two-year anniversary of the start of construction on site, that has been witnessing a rapid development and progress ever since, and in light of the lockdown witnessed by the world last year in efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and the challenges that in turn affected various fields, perhaps most notably the tourism and travel sectors, Qetaifan Projects succeeded in adapting to difficulties and transforming challenges into opportunities during the year 2020, and it is worth noting that the development of Qetaifan Island North did not witness any deviation from the set schedule or any noticeable delays from the specified work plan. Quite the opposite, as a committee was formed to develop a joint plan between the Operations and Technical Departments headed by His Excellency Sheikh Nasser bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Katara Hospitality, to manage the crisis and overcome it without affecting the company’s operation, especially in light of the presence of more than 7000 workers working around the clock on site under the supervision of 6 main contractors, where the number of working hours reached more than 6 million hours, to complete the first-phase projects packages; which include the hotel, the waterpark, the icon tower island, the salt canal, the retail plaza, the mosque and the beach club, in addition to the company’s employees and departments. The most prominent priorities for crisis management were the physical and psychological health of the company’s employees, with a commitment to follow the precautionary measures set by the State’s Supreme Committee for Crisis Management and the Ministry of Public Health.

Business plan … a Clear Vision and One Goal

“Working within a successful organization such as Katara Hospitality under the leadership of His Excellency Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim bin Jabor Al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Katara Hospitality, puts more responsibility on us and requires more effort from our side. In other words, reaching the summit is difficult, but maintaining it is much more difficult. This requires from everyone to not only work as one team, but more than that, to work on establishing the team spirit as a principle and consider it as a starting point for understanding strengths and investing in them in the correct and timely manner, identifying weaknesses to avoid them, exploiting strengths to minimize the impact of weaknesses, and working in harmony and unity, each in his specialization as “one body” in the face of the crisis.” His Excellency Sheikh Nasser bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, Managing Director of Qetaifan Projects and Deputy Chairman of Katara Hospitality, expressed the main reason behind the success of Qetaifan Projects, which is the clarity of vision and the smooth transmission of it to the team and the resulting unification of thought. The essence of crisis management, as is the case in all state institutions that combined their efforts and harnessed their capabilities to pass through the crisis, taking into account preserving project schedules as much as possible and paying attention to the health and occupational safety of community members and work teams, especially in light of working on the preparations to host the 2022 World Cup, which will be hosted for the first time in an Arab country.

A year of transforming challenges into opportunities, International Awards and Partnerships

In the same context, Mr. Hesham Sharaf, Chief Operating Officer, added, “Qetaifan Projects started in 2020 with many ambitions and pre-prepared plans to complete the achievements that began since the company’s establishment in January 2018, especially after Qetaifan Projects’ participation in Cityscape 2019, in which Qetaifan Island North development was launched and presented the first direct contact between the company and its customers, as Qetaifan Projects’ booth at the exhibition witnessed a great turnout of visitors interested to learn about the project and its elements, and the number of plot reservations reached four times the quantity offered, which resulted in selling out of Phase 1 residential villa plots. Perhaps the most prominent challenge in 2020 was the launch of Phase 2 villa plots, which witnessed the closures and all the precautionary measures that resulted from it, and accordingly, as per the plan devised to manage the crisis and take advantage of the lockdown and in conjunction with the strict precautionary measures set, Qetaifan Projects invested in its employees by providing a safe and healthy environment for them and their families. The Human Resources Department also initiated intensive internal awareness campaigns and provided electronic work platforms necessary to work from home efficiently, and we also encouraged employees to apply in training, workshops and webinars, and we also launched a book reading club. This contributed to spreading positivity, which effectively affected employee productivity and opened doors for innovative new ideas.

And the demand for ownership in Qetaifan Island North continues

Sales exceed One Billion Riyals within 12 months

The year 2020 began with many ambitions due to the success witnessed during the previous year, many innovative marketing plans and ideas were developed to ensure the continuity of the series of achievements, and the COVID-19 pandemic did not stand as a barrier between Qetaifan Projects and its ambition to achieve more successes, as the demand on Phase 1 villa plots gave an indication of the high demand expected on the villa plots offered in Phase 2, especially after Qetaifan Projects postponed two payments to the owners of the first phase as a step within the plan to manage the pandemic crisis. As Qetaifan Projects succeeded in delivering the message of “one body” not only to its employees, but extended this message to also reach its customers, which was positively reflected on the owners of the first phase and gave them more confidence regarding the value of Qetaifan Island North as a project, and the commercial identity of Qetaifan Projects through which it seeks to consolidate its relationship with investors and work on the principle of win-win situation; that everyone is winning, not only by providing innovative real estate facilities, but rather to value the relationship between the developer and the investor, which in turn is based on trust as an essential part of the real estate development cycle. The second phase of plots included the launch of a new real estate product for the first time in the market, which is villas with access to an exclusive five-star operated beach. Despite the pandemic and following all precautionary measures, Qetaifan Projects’ efforts resulted in the selling out of the offered villa plots in Phase 2, and sales exceeding one billion riyals in one night, the sales auction night, which witnessed a greater demand for ownership in Qetaifan Island North.

Qetaifan Projects strives for Globalization

It is worth noting that Qetaifan Projects has concluded a number of global partnerships during 2020, perhaps the most prominent of which is the British company Sarner International Ltd, the global leader in the design and implementation of edutainment tours, to design and implement an edutainment ride in Qetaifan Island North’s waterpark, equipped with augmented reality technology and 3D visual effects on the discovery of oil and gas in Qatar to enrich the Qatari culture. Qetaifan Projects has also signed with Severn Lamb, the world leaders in the design, supply, and manufacture of light urban, leisure and resort transport, to manufacture and install the Waterpark’s train, which will transport the waterpark visitors from the main island to the Icon Tower Island. As well as Interlink, a company specializing in the design, manufacture, and supply of a wide range of water rides. Qetaifan Projects has also won the award for the best place to work in Qatar, to come in the third place in the Middle East, and sixth in the world after international companies. In terms of employees’ development and departments’ accreditation, the Finance team obtained the accreditation of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and 7 of the employees obtained the membership of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. It is also worth mentioning that the Marketing Department won the Marcom Platinum Award as the best team achievement for the sales of Qetaifan Island North’s Phase 1 villa plots – 2020, the NYX Marcom Excellence Award 2020, and the Stevie bronze award for sales achievement in Phase 1 – 2021. Qetaifan Projects has won more awards, including The Best New Real Estate Development Company in Qatar 2020 and The Most Innovative New Real Estate Developer in Qatar 2020 the International Finance Magazine, as well as The Best Real Estate Development Company in Qatar 2020 awarded by The Global Business Outlook Awards. In addition to the Safety Excellence Award 2020 in the real estate sector presented at the launching event of the “Qatar Achievements on Vocational Safety Book”. The company is also nominated for the Arabian Property Awards 2021. Qetaifan Projects considers one of its most important achievements, which it is proud of, is the dependence on the local market, which has reached 90%.