Photo: Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK)

Artificial islands in Qatar 

Emerging from the arid sands of Qatar is Lusail, a city development covering 21 km2 and incorporating five man-made islands and 30 km of waterfront. A significant percentage of land plots have already been sold.

The area to the north of Doha, the capital of Qatar, is in the process of a dramatic metamorphosis carefully taking into account the environment and local requirements.

Former desert is being transformed into a new city development with five man-made islands and a total of 30 km of waterfront comprising sandy beaches, quay walls and rock structures.

Land reclamation

The project involves land reclamation on a massive scale, necessitating the shifting of approximately 25 million m3 of material for the construction of islands, beaches and canals.

Photo: Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK)
Lusail is emerging from the arid sands of Qatar.


Attracting locals and tourists

The idea is to raise a development city of 21 km2 with a blend of luxury apartments, offices, an entertainment district including themed areas, golf courses, bathing beaches and first-class hotels, attracting locals and tourists alike. When fully developed, Lusail will be able to accommodate up to 200,000 people and provide premises for local and international companies.The largest development in Qatar

The development will be the largest in Qatar to date and will house, amongst others, the headquarters of Qatar Petroleum, the national company responsible for all oil and gas industry processes in Qatar, and Energy City which will be a business centre for commercial, technical and human resource development of the region's oil and gas industry.

While the first residential properties and offices are due to be ready for occupation in 2010, the development as a whole, including its comprehensive range of buildings and facilities, is unlikely to reach full maturity until after 2020.

No difficulty selling plots

"The client sold the first plots even before construction work had begun. And he did not have to look far for buyers," reports Jørgen Juhl, chief project manager for COWI.

"This country is experiencing a boom in both population and prosperity. Everyone wants to get out to the water and have access to recreational areas. Moreover, as it's normal here for people to have more than one home, this is probably not the last development of its kind we shall see in this region."

By Christina Tækker, cht@cowi.com 
Published: 09.02.2007

Construction in one stage  
COWI is the sub-consultant for the UK engineering company, Halcrow, and is carrying out design and supervisory work on the infrastructure of the development on behalf of the state-owned Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company. In the introductory stages, COWI has been responsible for geotechnical and hydraulic studies, all the environmental impact assessments and has designed all the marine structures.

The project was launched in August 2004. The man-made islands and waterfront structures are currently being built. The construction of the infrastructure will be completed in 2010.

"A new city is normally planned in stages but in this case, integrated city planning has been done in one, overarching phase. This means that Lusail will be one of the best-planned city developments in the world," maintains chief project manager Jørgen Juhl.