Circular economy in Qatar to yield extra $17 bn by 2030

Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) has underscored the promising opportunities for green investment in waste management and predicted that the model of the circular economy would bring enormous financial, social, and environmental benefits to Qatar, yielding an additional $17 billion by 2030, corresponding to 10 percent of its GDP, and up to 19,000 new jobs by the same year.

IPA Qatar’s recent waste Management sectoral study demonstrated that the waste management market in Qatar is supported by nine existing waste management facilities and a government-led commitment towards the circular use of materials to promote economic growth while preserving and enhancing natural capital.

The study that explores the inherent potential in the waste management sector in Qatar, said that the advanced connectivity and infrastructure give potential investors distinct opportunities in recycling, waste-to-energy technologies, and materials recovery sub-sectors.

Qatar’s national environment and climate strategy aim to close and rehabilitate unsanitary landfills and achieve a 15 percent material recycling rate of municipal waste. Its ambitious goals also create tangible opportunities across the waste management value chain.

IPA Qatar’s study pointed out that Cities in the GCC, Qatar’s capital Doha included, are the most urbanised, containing 85 percent of the region’s population today, a proportion that is expected to rise to 90 percent by 2050.

In its sustainable planning, the country has invested in the construction of circular cities, Lusail and Msheireb Downtown Doha, as blueprints for sustainable living where pneumatic waste collection, sewage treatment plants, district cooling, centralized facilities, and GSAS are the rule, not the exception.

The waste management sectoral study said that building out this sustainable vision will be imperative in the coming decades. While international and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in coordinating and helping circular practices reach scale, corporate investors will take on a central role in expanding the industry. Diverting investments towards sustainable waste management will have a multiplier effect in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With it comes direct and indirect economic benefits, from industrial waste accounting for the largest revenue share of global waste with 50 percent, to the long-term implications of environmental protection with a large part of the world’s economic output depending upon the viability of natural systems.

However, it continued by pointing out that this enormous number also holds immense opportunity for sustainable investments in waste management and technological advancements under a circular economy, especially since the region produces about 6 percent of the world’s waste with prevalent disposal methods ranging from open dumps and landfills to recycling facilities.