Doha Park 2011

Date:	Oct 06, 2011 to Nov 07, 2011
Venue:	Near Doha Exhibition Center
Audience:	Citizens and Residents, Visitors, Families, Media

Doha Park is the largest festival of the year, bringing family-friendly entertainment to Doha from October 13 to November 18.
The festival will feature more than 100 events and attractions, including:

• Amusement park
• International circus
• Theatrical plays
• Concerts
• 3D cinema
• Music performances
• Cartoon personalities
• Play area for children under the age of 10
• 107 shops
• 24 restaurants

Organizers hope the event will attract tourists from across the GCC region. Doha Park is organized by the Qatar Tourism Authority, with support from diverse sponsors.
Tickets are available online or through Virgin Megastores. For more information, visit doha-park.com.


Original Link: Hukoomi Site.

Qatar Olympic Committee Welcomes IOC 2020 Applicant City Shortlist

This Website support Qatar's Bid for 2020 Olympics. Long Live QATAR!!!!

Qatar Olympic Committee [QOC] General Secretary H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman today welcomed news from the International Olympic Committee that Doha has been confirmed as an Applicant City for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


H.E. Sheikh Saoud said: “Today’s announcement by the IOC that Doha has been officially confirmed as an Applicant City for the 2020 Games is wonderful news for the people of Qatar and the entire Middle East.  Our team will be working tirelessly on all aspects of our bid and hosting concept all the way through to the IOC Executive Board meeting in May 2012 when we hope to be confirmed as a 2020 Candidate City and then all the way to the IOC Session in September 2013.  We want to build on what we have achieved in sport in recent years as we set out our plans to the Olympic Family

 
 “To have the opportunity to host the first ever Games in the Middle East will have a profound impact not just on sports development throughout the region, but also in encouraging a greater bridge between the Middle East and the wider international community. Doha already has significant experience in hosting international events and, of course, that experience will grow further when Doha hosts 8,000 athletes during the Arab Games 2011 this December.
 

 “The IOC Executive Board has shown great vision in allowing us to bid to host the Games outside the traditional date window and we will do all we can to show why that was the right decision.”

Source: http://www.qfa.com.qa/qatar-olympic-committee-welcomes-ioc-2020-applicant-city-shortlist.aspx

December 18 - Qatar National Day Celebration

Qatar marks its National Day on December 18 to commemorate the historic event of December 18, 1878, when Sheikh Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani, founder of the state, assumed power. Law No. 61  was issued in 2007, announcing the day of Sheikh Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani’s assumption of power as the National Day. Earlier Qatar used to observe the occasion on September 3, to commemorate September 3, 1971, when it declared independence from being a protectorate of the UK.

Qatar ‘is fastest growing economy in the WORLD'

Qatar is currently the fastest growing economy in the world with a compounded average real GDP growth of 15.7% during 2006-10, QNB Capital has said in its latest report.
According to QNB Capital, large investments made by the State in the natural gas and other sectors have ensured rapid growth and diversification of the economy. The benefits of this have also stimulated activities in the private sector, which along with increased government spending have ensured strong growth also in the non-oil and gas sector. The non-oil and gas sector witnessed a compounded average growth of 16.4% during 2006-10.
QNB Capital forecasts that Qatar will continue to be the fastest growing global economy in 2011 with an estimated real GDP growth of 21.0%. The forecasts are based on further expansion in natural gas and related sectors as well as the non-oil and gas sectors.
The oil and gas sector will be one of the main driving forces for GDP in 2011 with an expected growth of 29.5%.
The key individual driver within this sector will be natural gas, which is expected to witness a substantial growth in 2011 with LNG production capacity already reaching 77mn tonnes, from 62mn tonnes in 2010.  Condensate production (including GTL) is estimated to reach 685,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, from 396,500 bpd in 2010. Pipeline gas is estimated to reach 4bn cubic feet per day in 2011 through the Dolphin and Al Khalij projects.
Also supporting growth for the economy is the crude oil sector with an average estimated production of 800,000 bpd in 2011 from 780,000 bpd in 2010. Although oil production capacity has reached over 1mn barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, output is restricted due to output targets set out by OPEC.   
The non-oil and gas sector is expected to grow by 14.1% in 2011, driven mainly by manufacturing, financial services and a rebound in the construction sector.
The manufacturing sector will get a major boost with extensive expansion in petrochemicals mainly through Q-Chem II, Qatofin, Ras Laffan ethylene cracker, and additional capacity at Qapco. Sound monetary policy will help both the financial services sector and the construction sector, as lower interest rates will support credit growth, QNB Capital said. 
Further, the government’s commitment to spending and economic stimulus will form a back-bone of confidence for the private sector. The 2011-12 State budget has allocated around $16bn for projects in infrastructure, education, youth welfare, and healthcare. Projects with an estimated value of $185bn are expected to be carried out in the coming ten years.
This along with strategic external investments by the State will provide additional diversification opportunities and sustain economic growth for many years to come, the report said.

Source: Gulftimes.com

Exit permits from services centres

The Ministry of Interior has announced that exit permits can henceforth be obtained from any of its immigrations service offices in different districts of the country .

“To make it easy for exit permit applicants, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has activated issuance of exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors in all services centres spread across the country,” a spokesman said.
Apart from the Passports and Airport Security Department, services centres in  Al-Khor, Mesaiemeer, Al-Shahaniya, HMC, Q-Post, Industrial Area, Al-Shamal, Al-Wakrah, Souq Waqif, Umm Salal, Al-Dhayin and Dukhan will issue exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors, said the director of Unified Services Centre (USD) Colonel Abdullah Ali Al-Sulaiti.
This is in addition to the facility to apply electronically through e-government portal and self-service kiosks of the MoI spread across the country.  Exit permits for single travel and multiple travels will be issued from the services centres.

For this purpose, filled in application forms available at  the MoI website, with authorised signature shall be submitted along with original ID of the sponsor or establishment card of the company and the passport copy of the sponsored persons. Fee for single travel permit is QR10 and for multiple travels QR500 to be paid by bank cards.
The assistant director of Information Systems Department of the Ministry, Colonel Abdul Rahman al-Maliki said that the exit permits applications can be submitted  electronically also through the e-government web portal or MoI self-service kiosks. These kiosks are available at 11 locations in different parts of the county in shopping complexes and malls such as Lulu Hypermarket, Villaggio Mall and Landmark. The Ministry is planning more kiosks in different locations, he added.    

Using smart cards, individuals and authorised representatives of companies can obtain exit permits electronically and it is password protected to ensure authorisation. After keying in the password, the applicant shall select the exit permit service and furnish the Qatari ID of the travelling person. The system will extract the information and issue the permit.