Dr Essam Elsarrag

Dubai, UAE: Qatar has a rich diversity of projects, which should be good news for all HVAC players, Dr Essam Elsarrag of the Gulf Organization for Research & Development (GORD-GSAS) has said.

While the stadiums being developed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will rely on chilled water systems to provide cooling, there are several other projects where the systems likely cannot be an option, because to date, the reticulation networks do not exist, Dr Elsarrag said. “There are no opportunities for VRF systems in any of the World Cup stadiums in Qatar, but there are going to be 60 training pitches across the country,” Dr Elsarrag said. “They are spread out and, hence, cannot be connected to a District Cooling network.” The training pitches will have allied building facilities, which will need air conditioning, and that is where there is an opportunity for cooling approaches other than District Cooling. Those projects will have to rely on standalone systems, including possibly even VRF systems, Dr Elsarrag added.

In addition to the training pitches-related developments, Qatar is building about 100 mosques and 200 schools. Such projects, Dr Elsarrag said, constituted an opportunity for VRF manufacturers.

Qatar, he said, was likely to develop special economic zones in a bid to diversify from a primarily oil-based economy. The zones, spanning 100 million square metres, he added, could also be a target for manufacturers of standalone systems.

(The writer is the Editor of Climate Control Middle East and the Editorial Director & Associate Publisher of CPI Industry.)