Qatar’s new initiative — Own your Factory in 72 Hours — elicits huge response
For the last two months, Qatar has been placed under an illegal siege by neighbouring GCC countries. The country, looking at being more self-dependant than ever before, is now taking steps to ensure that.
A major government initiative called the ‘Own your Factory in Qatar in 72 Hours’ project, aimed at fast-tracking establishment of more manufacturing units and factories in Qatar, has attracted more than 9,000 applications so far, reported Gulf Times.
The report said that a total of 9,349 applications were received so far from both local and international companies representing major industrial sectors.
The Single Window project, which called for investors in 250 investment opportunities, concluded its registrations on July 19. Around 87% of interested parties were from Qatar, reported The Peninsula.
But it is also interesting to note that there were at least 41 applicants from Egypt, 24 from Saudi Arabia and 15 registered from the UAE.
The initiative was the second phase of the Single Window project, which promises to approve all industrial and environmental licenses within 72 hours of application, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Single Window project aims to eliminate any hassles investors may face in Qatar. While the initiative was started much before the blockade, the current situation has propelled activation of the programme much faster.
“The initiative is aimed at developing local manufacturing products needed here. We’re now in a situation where some of our products are being imported from the neighbouring countries. We’ve listed these items and have prioritised 100 of them that we need to start manufacturing locally,” said an official.
Salman Mohammed Keldari, Chairman of the Coordinating Panel for the Single Window System Management, said food industry had attracted the largest number of investors.
“There were 3,168 interested investors in the food sector, followed by 1,334 in metal industry, 1,086 in paper industry, 941 in rubber and plastics industry, 826 in chemical industries, 732 in electrical industries, 710 in medical industries and 552 in machinery and vehicles,” he was quoted as saying by Qatar Tribune.
Aside from licensing, the project guarantees qualified investors with land readiness and immediate access to visas, including readiness of industrial infrastructure like water, electricity, gas, and roads, as well as priority for purchases with local manufacturers.
Kaldari said other privileges include platforms for exports, 10-year income tax exemption, customs exemptions for raw materials, and the provision of a 10% support for national and government products, in addition to financing services provided by Qatar Development Bank (QDB).
The committee will take a month to study the applications submitted by investors. After selecting qualified investors, the winners will be given a wide range of privileges like environmental and operational licenses with a plot of land.
