Qatar’s freight transport business will grow at an average 8.1 per cent annually up to 2011, according to a recent study entitled Qatar Freight Transport Report, by global emerging markets specialist Business Monitor International (BMI).

On the edge of a new gas-led export boom, and with fairly open markets, Qatar leads the Middle East and Africa freight transport business environment ranking with a score of 46, compared to a “theoretical maximum” of 70 and a regional average of 39.9, the study said. “Th e overall outlook for Qatar’s freight business is encouraging,” said BMI.

According to its projections, the country’s air cargo business will grow at 9.3 per cent per year on average, based on “good performance” by national carrier Qatar Airways.

Road haulage will grow by seven per cent, just a little ahead of the growth of the economy, while pipeline throughput should be up by 7.6 per cent on average.

Across all modes, freight growth will average 8.1 per cent per annum.

“Various factors support this prediction,” BMI said. The single most important factor is the size of new LNG production capacity expected to come onstream over the next few years, including Qatargas-4 and RasGas-3 projects,” saidthe report.

The country’s strong growth rate on the back of a massive increase in oil and gas revenues, which is expected to average 6.7 per cent between 2007 and 2011, and the general growth in trade, will also be contributing factors.

Qatar’s LPG output is rising rapidly, with the country due to become the world’s second largest producer by 2011, with an output of 14 million tonnes, second only to the UAE.