Qatar carries out projects at a cost of $108 billion

Qatar said on Thursday it intends to implement projects of a total value of 108 billion dollars during the five coming years.

Qatar's minister of the economy and foreign trade Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ahmad Bin Jasem al-Thani said he expects the investment of $50 billion in developing the infrastructure while the rest of the sum estimated at $58 billion will be invested in energy and gas projects.

The second deputy for Qatar's prime minister, and minister of energy and industry Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Atiyah said on Wednesday on the sideline of an economic conference that the total value of energy projects in Qatar until 2012 will be $75 billion.

Among energy projects, the minister of energy mentioned Qatar's project for gas production which costs $13 billion and the project of Gas and Petro-chemicals and converting gas into liquids.

Qatar which signed several contracts with foreign establishments to develop its emerging industry to produce natural liquid gas, and who owns the third biggest gas reserve in the world ( 900 trillion cubic meters), has the ambitions to be the number one exporter of natural liquid gas in the world.

Qatar produces currently 20 million tons of liquid gas annually and hopes this number to reach 77 million tons annually in 2010.

Qatar has opened its financial local market to foreign investors and permitted the owning of 25% of the shares of the Qatari companies registered on the stock market.