Qatar’s premier logistics firm has reported progress in its projects and been bolstered by a management contract from the local government.

Gulf Warehousing Company (GWC) will manage more than 16 government warehouses in the Industrial Area.
The company has two ongoing projects, one of which is the development of a Mesaieed industrial facility at an estimated cost of QR70 million ($19.2 million). The other and the larger one is the Logistics Village Qatar (LVQ), which it is developing at a cost of QR1.8 billion.
The Mesaieed industrial facility involves an area of 60,812 sq m, and plans are that it will construct a warehouse there. Some designs have been approved by the government while other designs relating to services and utilities are awaited, GWC said.  The warehouse project follows the construction of an open yard of 26,000 sq m that the company has already completed.
The first phase of LVQ was recently completed. The work related to the leveling of land, external fencing and construction of a 4.5 km external road connecting the project with the Industrial Area.
Work has begun on the second phase which includes the construction of a freezer warehouse of 26,000 sq m and 18 utility buildings. Also to be built in course of time are 126 small and large-scale warehouses, truck parking areas, an operations yard, a container yard, open storage, an auction facility, a main administrative building, a car storage facility and several other structures related to logistics.
Qatar Development Bank has extended a QR500 million grant for LVQ’s first phase and efforts are in progress to find joint venture partners for the remainder of the project.
GWC general manager James Walsh said the storage facilities for frozen products were timely as the local population was growing,  triggering strong demand for frozen items. The need for storage was giving the local logistics industry a fillip.
GWC is looking to establish a presence in overseas markets and has already made a start. In February of 2007, it picked up a 20 per cent stake in Oman’s Almadina Logistics Company, a joint stock firm that specialises in warehousing and transportation among other logistics services. Walsh said GWC would also strengthen its advisory services as it penetrated into other Gulf states.
The company reported a net profit of QR1.8 million for the first half of 2008, which was a turnaround from the net loss of QR2.17 it made in the corresponding period of the previous year. “A five-fold jump in operating profit and cut in rental expenses landed the company in profit,” according to a financial statement filed with the Doha Securities Market.
It had made a net profit of QR2.8 million in full-year 2007.
GWC was formed in March 2004 with the aim of developing it as a leading provider of third-party logistics services to a range of industries.
In pursuance of that goal, the company is engaging itself in the construction of warehouses and investment in IT systems.
Its flagship warehouse site, strategically located in the Doha Industrial Area, consists of a purpose-built 25,000 sq m facility with 46,000 pallet locations. It offers ambient high-rise temperature-controlled storage to third-party customers.
At the centre of its business is a state-of-the-art warehouse management system which enables full visibility to customers from receipt through to dispatch of consignments. GWC’s inhouse team can integrate the system with a wide range of platforms including SAP and Oracle.
“We are keen to develop long-term strategic partnerships with our customers to provide them a competitive advantage in the market,” a company statement said.