United Development Company Q.P.S.C. (UDC) is a Qatari public shareholding company. It is

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

's leading construction firm, engaged in several industry sectors and operating subsidiaries in the segments of

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

, hydrocarbon & energy,

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

& leisure, and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

History

Founded in 1999 as an urban development and

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under the ...

, in June 2003, it became listed in the Qatar Stock Exchange under the symbol: QE: UDCD.QA. One of the companies main activities is the development of 985 acres of land in a man-made island, known as The Pearl Island, into urban districts with supporting infrastructure including luxury housing & apartments, retail centers, educational & healthcare institutions, hotels, and marinas. In 2017, United Development Company reported revenues of $549 million, and a net profit of $166 million. In August 2018, the Qatari stock exchange had risen by 17 percent, which had recouped the exchange's losses due to the embargo. In the same year, UDC witnessed an increase in residential and retail leasing business at their main real estate development, The Pearl Island. This was due to the fact that the man-made island, located 350 meters offshore of Doha's West Bay District, had seen an increase in the number of rented residential properties & leased retails areas during the first half of 2018. The company has signed contracts for the development of Gewan Island, which is claimed to be a $686 million project located next to The Pearl Island.

Projects

The Pearl Island, developed by United Development Company, is "an

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...

spanning nearly four square kilometers" and was planned by architecture and design firm Callison. It is a mixed-used development that spans 4.12 million sqm of reclaimed land with 32 km of coastline, and an estimated construction cost of $14 billion. As of 2015, the island was reportedly home to more than 56 nationalities making up the more than 19,000 residents. This number reportedly grew to 27,000 residents in 2017. Commercially, and as of September 2017, the island recorded 115,000 msq. of leased retail space. In April 2018, at an international real estate investment event, UDC signed contracts for the development of a new project called Gewan Island. The

Letter of Intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

(LOI) was signed by UDC and Qatar National Bank for financing the development of the project. Gewan Island, which is next to The Pearl Island has an approximate area of 400,000 sqm with an expected built up area of 388,000 sqm.

Subsidiaries & Joint Ventures

The following are United Development Company's major

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...

: * Hospitality Development Company (HDC) - founded in 2007 and focused in the development and operation of hospitality establishments such as restaurants and food outlets. * Madina Innova O.M.C. - founded in 2010 for

facilities management Facility management or facilities management (FM) is a professional management discipline focused on the efficient and effective delivery of logistics and other support services related to real property and buildings. It encompasses multiple disc ...

for residents of The Pearl Island. *Ronautica Middle East (RME) - incorporated in 2007, and focusing on marina management and

nautical Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

services. The below are UDC's more prominent joint-ventures: * Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool) - established in 2003 to provide

district cooling District cooling is the cooling equivalent of district heating. Working on broadly similar principles to district heating, district cooling delivers chilled water to buildings like offices and factories needing cooling. In winter, the source for t ...

for The Pearl Island and Qatar's West Bay District with their latest plant becoming the first

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

-certified cooling plant in Qatar. * United Readymix W.L.L. - a joint venture for the production of

ready-mix concrete Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is concrete that is manufactured in a batch plant, according to each specific job requirement, then delivered to the job site "ready to use". There are two types with the first being the barrel truck or in–transi ...

, formed between UDC,

BESIX BESIX Group is a construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia. Its a ...

and

Six Construct BESIX Group is a construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia. Its ...

of Belgium and other Qatari investors.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
Companies of Qatar Engineering companies of Qatar Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1999 Qatari companies established in 1999