Inflation and restrictive banking norms could have "knock-on" effects on Qatar's construction industry in the near future, a new study has reported.

High construction costs, combined with shortage of visas for skilled manpower, and a lack of systems to test prospective engineer capabilities, will also hinder the country’s construction growth.

International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC) worked with Mohamed Sheikh Al Souk, deputy general manager, Construction Development Contracting and Trading and Mark Rudman, former regional director of Faithful and Gould, to arrive at a productivity report about Qatar’s construction sector.

“Since there is so much demand and the infrastructure here has not quite caught up yet, there are always very high costs associated with the growth of any company such as high rent and consequently high wages,” Al Souk said.

“It is extremely difficult to obtain banking services from local banks because they have raised their requirements in such a way that it is now more difficult than ever,” he said.

 “The scale of the construction boom in Qatar has brought significant difficulties along with a host of fresh opportunities,” local daily Gulf Times quoted him.

Qatar’s investments, worth $200bn by 2022, in preparation for FIFA World Cup 2022 and National Vision 2030, will also be hindered by the lack of labourers and skilled workers in the local building sector.

“Ultimately, this shortage of visas combined with a lack of proper capability testing, has led to a situation where construction projects are being delayed due to a shortfall of skilled engineers,” Al Souk said.

The speed of progression for contractors in Qatar was not helped by the lack of available work visas from the government for certain nationalities, Al Souk added, the report said.