Barwa plans tourist resort in southern Qatar

Qatar-based real estate giant Barwa has signed an agreement to build a tourist resort in South Msaieed, about 50km from Doha. Barwa Real Estate has inked a deal with Qatar Petroleum to rent part of the Msaieed Industrial City to transform it into a resort, Qatar News Agency reported. It said under the agreement, Barwa would rent a 829,721 sq m of land with feasibility studies set to start soon. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Subaie, CEO of Barwa Real Estate, said: "This dynamic project comes as part of our growth plans and in light of the new corporate strategy of Barwa Group, which focuses on implementing projects within the State of Qatar as a priority, encouraging diversity of activities and supporting tourism as one of the drives of the Qatari economy." Mohammed Jassim Al Baker, Qatar Petroleum's manager of Msaieed Industrial City, added: "This project will add a new strategic dimension to Msaieed Industrial City as a tourist attraction after being known as a leader in the gas and petrochemical industry on the local, regional and international levels." Earlier this month, Barwa Real Estate Group said its 2011 full-year net profit fell by 8.9 percent to QR1.29bn ($354.35m), compared to the previous year. The company made gains of QR556m in 2011 from the sale of properties, much higher than the QR159m it made in 2010, it said in a statement. Hitmi Al-Hitmi, chairman, said the results reflected the Group's newly adopted strategy, which puts particular emphasis on increasing cash revenues and sustainable growth. He said the Group had significantly reduced its costs and expenses while sustaining the growth of its operating income, hinting at the 90 jobs cut back in April 2011.