Qatar enjoys an extensive and highly-developed infrastructure that has been built and developed with oil wealth since the 1950s. The country is served by a network of over 1,230 kilometers (764 miles) of primary and secondary roads, linking Doha with major industrial and oil producing areas. Most of these roads, some 1,107 kilometers (688 miles), are paved. The country has no railway system. Qatar has 4 airports, 2 of which have unpaved runways. Doha International Airport is the country's major airport. Twenty-eight airlines service Doha and bring in most of the country's tourists. Qatar has 3 ports and harbors: Doha, Halul Island, and Umm Sa'id.
Electrical power is provided to Qataris from the Ras Aby Aboud and Ras Abu Fontas power stations. In addition, there are 6 gas turbines and an estimated 5,000 diesel units spread across the country. Altogether, Qatar's total power capacity is estimated at 2,019 megawatts (MW). In 2000, the government drew up plans to build an independent power station with a capacity of 1,902 MW to meet the increasing demands of industrial projects and satisfy rising power demand, which peaks in the summer due to soaring temperatures. Several foreign companies, which are expected to own 60 percent of the project, have submitted bids, but the project's completion date remained unknown in 2001.
Telecommunications services in Qatar are thoroughly modern. Telephone service is provided by the Qatar Public Telecommunications Corporation (Q-Tel), which is 55 percent government owned. There are 430,000 landlines in the country, and in 2001, Q-Tel will be installing additional exchanges for Doha and Ras Laffan. Q-Tel also provides Internet and cable television access.
| Communications | ||||||||
| Country | Telephones a | Telephones, Mobile/Cellular a | Radio Stations a | Radios a | TV Stations a | Televisions a | Internet Service Providers c | Internet Users c |
| Qatar | 142,000 | 43,476 | AM 6; FM 5; shortwave 1 | 256,000 | 2 | 230,000 | 1 | 45,000 |
| United States | 194 M | 69.209 M (1998) | AM 4,762; FM 5,542; shortwave 18 | 575 M | 1,500 | 219 M | 7,800 | 148 M |
| Saudi Arabia | 3.1 M (1998) | 1 M (1998) | AM 43; FM 31; shortwave 0 | 6.25 M | 117 | 5.1 M | 42 (2001) | 400,000 (2001) |
| Bahrain | 152,000 | 58,543 | AM 2, FM 3, | 338,000 | 4 | 275,000 | 1 | 37,500 |
| a Data is for 1997 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| b Data is for 1998 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| c Data is for 2000 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [Online]. | ||||||||