DOHA – Qatar’s economy grew 6.9 percent year-on-year in inflation-adjusted terms in the first quarter helped by a jump in the construction industry, Qatar Statistics Authority said Sunday, citing preliminary data.

The world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas also saw its real gross domestic product rising by 3.0 percent in January-March compared with the previous three months, the Qatar Statistics Authority said citing preliminary data.

Latest comparable growth rates for the final quarter of 2011 are not available, the authority said, as it has been revising the GDP data for 2011 and 2010.

In March it originally reported GDP growth of 14.7 percent year-on-year for October-December 2011, which it revised to 14.8 percent in the following month. It put the quarter-on-quarter expansion at 4.6 percent in April. Qatar expects its economic growth to slow to 4.5 percent in 2013, the weakest rate in a decade, the state planning authority said last week. The weakening global growth outlook and the euro zone debt crisis pose a risk to the OPEC member as they are affecting oil prices, it added.
It saw real GDP growth falling sharply to 6.2 percent in 2012 from a revised 14.1 percent last year as the impact of decades of expansion in its gas output levels off.

Analysts polled by Reuters in March forecast real GDP growth of 6.6 percent for 2012.

Oil and gas output, which accounts for around 58 percent of Qatar’s economy, increased 4.6 percent on an annual basis in constant prices in the first quarter, edging up just 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, the data showed.

Construction, where activity is picking up ahead of the planned 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, saw output rising 6.1 percent year-on-year. But it soared by nearly 22 percent from the previous quarter, largely outpacing all other sectors.

Qatar, which has avoided the social unrest that rocked the Arab world last year, plans to boost government spending by 27 percent to $49 billion in the fiscal year that began in April. It plans to invest about $130 billion in its non-hydrocarbon sector in 2012-2018. Infrastructure spending should average more than 10 percent of GDP ahead of the World Cup.

Qatar Airways to unveil
new B787 Dreamliner
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways will unveil its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the first time at the world’s largest aerospace event, Farnborough International Air Show, taking place in the UK between July 9 and 15. The global reveal of the 787 by Qatar Airways , Boeing’s Middle East launch customer of the aircraft, will be a highlight at Farnborough with more than 120,000 visitors expected to flock to the week-long show.Qatar Airways will have its 787 on static display at the event, which attracts over 1,400 exhibitors of aircraft, equipment and latest technologies across the commercial and defense aerospace industries. The debut of the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner in Qatar Airways ‘ colors marks a significant milestone as the carrier makes its final preparations to officially receive and commercially introduce the first of 60 aircraft on order this year. Qatar Airways is due to take delivery of five 787s during 2012.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the airline’s prominent presence with the unveiling of the first Qatar Airways 787 Dreamliner at the largest global aviation event of its kind, signals the start of an exciting new chapter for travel in the Middle East and worldwide. “For Qatar Airways , the Farnborough International Air Show provides the perfect opportunity and global platform to proudly reveal our new 787 to the aviation industry and the wider public for the first time. “As the Middle East launch customer, we’re very excited that a new era of air travel with an unrivalled passenger experience is imminent, further proving Qatar Airways ‘commitment to expand with one of the youngest and technically advanced fleets in the industry.” – Reuters