2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

QATAR PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Qatar
All supplies from groundwater or desalination
With 75 mm of rainfall per annum, Qatar has no surface water resources. Agriculture (which grew
from a cultivated area of 2,256Ha in 1980 to 8,312Ha in 1994) is therefore almost entirely dependent
on irrigation from pumped groundwater. With a groundwater withdrawal rate of 188 million m³ per
annum in 1994 against an annual recharge of 50 million m 3 per annum, it is estimated that Qatar
aquifers will be depleted in 20 years. Renewable water resources are now totally depleted. The
accumulated groundwater deficit during the period 1972-1995 was 994 million m 3 , more than one third
of the 1977 estimate of total groundwater reserves in the country of 2,500 million m 3 . As a result,
groundwater levels are falling by 0.5-1.1m per year and the quality of water is being compromised by
sea water ingress and the intrusion of saline water from deeper aquifers. The estimated safe yield of
the aquifer, based on the calculated average natural recharge over the last 20 years is some 35
million m 3 per annum.
The annual production capacity for desalinated water in 2004 was 180 million m 3 per annum.
Desalination plants account for 96% of municipal potable water production. The total available potable
water storage in the country, in buffer reservoirs, ground tanks, elevated tanks, and water towers,
totals approximately 1.1 million m 3 . This represents approximately three days' supply based on an
average national consumption rate.
Privatisation is steadily evolving
The sector was restructured to allow private sector involvement in the 1990s. Distribution and
transmission were taken over by a new public sector body, the Qatar General Electricity and Water
Corporation (QGEWC, now called Kahramaa). Generation and desalination were put under the Qatar
Electricity and Water Company (QEWC). Shares in QEWC were sold via an IPO on the Doha
Securities Market in 1993. While the government retained 42.74% of the company, 16.86% was taken
by private investors and 40.4% was sold to major companies, including Qatar Petroleum and the
Qatar National Bank, which hold around 10% each.
The Government’s current pricing policy of supplying potable water free of charge to the prime
residence of all Qatari nationals may need to be reconsidered depending on the nature of private
sector involvement required. In 2000, QEWC was granted the power to charge for services and to
operate on a commercial basis. In 2003-04, QEWC commissioned a feasibility study for the
privatisation of water distribution services. Kahramaa seeks to spend R1.57 billion for 25 projects to
extend water services between 2005 and 2009, including R1.15 billion for projects already under
construction.
Groundwater and water imports
In order for the Government to maintain irrigated agriculture, and in the absence of any other source of
water supply, Qatar is looking to import water from Iran. This would be used to increase the remaining
groundwater reserves through artificial recharge to combat and minimise the environmental impact on
the deteriorating water quality caused by salt water intrusion and soil degradation. Imported water
from Iran is being negotiated and the Government has commissioned a study to test the feasibility of
using this water for direct irrigation purposes. It is expected that 5m 3 per second (160million m 3 per
annum) of water would be delivered from Iran’s Karun River.
Following a decree in 2001, the Ras Laffan Power Company was formed as a joint venture between
AES Corporation (USA, 55%), QEWC (25%), Qatar Petroleum (10%), and the Gulf Investment
Corporation (Kuwait, 10%). Construction of the Ras Laffan B Power and Water Plant started at Ras
Laffan in June 2005. The facility will meet short term water needs, but further projects are anticipated
in the medium term. Rad Laffan B is being built by Q-Power (Qatar Electricity and Water Company
(QEWC, 55%), International Power (UK, 40%), and Chubu Electric Power (Japan, 5%). Ras Laffan B
will deliver a further 150million m 3 per annum of water when it is fully commissioned in 2008. Power
and water from Ras Laffan B will be sold to Kahramaa under a 25 year purchase agreement after the
project is completed. Further plans to meet demand are also in preparation. An expansion of the Ras
Abu Fontas B (RAFB1) co-generation plant and a new IPP known as Facility B are both part of a
strategy to meet Qatar's domestic power needs until 2015. The proposed capacity for the RAFB1
project is 33 – 45 million m 3 per annum of water. The project will be executed by QEWC. The hope is
that the expansion will be completed within 15 months of the project's signing by the end of 2005.
165 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006