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Mesaieed (, also transliterated as Umm Sa'id) is an industrial city in Al Wakrah Municipality, south of the Qatar capital Doha. It was one of the most important cities in Qatar during the 20th century, having gained recognition as a prime industrial zone and tanking center for petroleum received from Dukhan.
Both Mesaieed and its industrial area are administered by a subdivision of QatarEnergy called "Mesaieed Industry City Management", which was established in 1996.
During fieldwork conducted by anthropologist Henry Field in 1950, Field recorded that Sheikh Mansur bin Khalil, a local sheikh, identified the Al Hibab as the primary tribal group residing in the area at the time, estimating their presence at approximately 100 tents. (1993). 9780500015735, Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500015735
In May 1960, the workers of Qatar Petroleum in Mesaieed went on strike following the redundancy of six Qatari employees and the firing of one resulting from a fight with an Indian employee. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in his correspondence with the British, stated he believed the redundancies to be justified and thus did not support the workers' right to strike. Despite one or two incidents involving confrontations between strikers and senior staff of Qatar Petroleum, the strike largely remained peaceful. Fearful that the strike would spread to Qatar's other industrial city of Dukhan, Sheikh Khalifa sent a force of 40 policemen to Mesaieed that month.
The development of Mesaieed faced some limitations in its early years: the encroaching industrial area to the south, sand dunes and an energy corridor to the west, and a sabkha (a type of salt flat) to the east. This configuration directed expansion primarily towards the north, with major roads on the north and west facilitating connections to the Saudi border, Al Wakrah and Doha.
The initial structure plan for Mesaieed envisioned five distinct neighborhoods, each with its own center, delineated by primary and secondary roads. These neighborhoods were designed to feature unique identities and local centers to meet daily needs, promoting both automobile and pedestrian movement. The local centers were intended to offer various facilities, including commercial spaces, local mosques, parking, and recreational opportunities, while the town center provided similar but larger-scale amenities.
A pedestrian network was planned for the town, linking the local centers and incorporating recreational facilities. Residential areas were planned with varying densities: high density near the town center, medium density to the east, and low density to the west. By the mid-1970s, it became clear that there was a pressing need for more residential accommodation to support the rapidly growing Mesaieed Industrial Area. In response, the government initiated several projects to provide the necessary housing and associated facilities. Housing for senior staff mainly consisted of villas, while intermediate staff housing for expatriates was designed by Greek-French architect Georges Candilis and followed a similar design to that used near the newly-created West Bay district of Doha, which was also designed by Candilis. This housing included over 200 units.
By 1976, Mesaieed had approximately 700 residential units, mainly in dormitory-style buildings with some . Projections for 1983 estimated a resident population of about 6,400. At that time, Mesaieed was equipped with essential services and amenities, including a health center, police and fire stations, a post office, two banks, a bakery, a cold store, two primary schools, an international school, staff clubs, mosques, a cinema, and a golf course.
In 1997, Mesaieed Municipality was formed from the areas of Mesaieed Industrial Area, Mesaieed and Shagra. It was dissolved in 2006 and reincorporated into the municipality of Al Wakrah.
When free elections of the Central Municipal Council first took place in Qatar during 1999, Mesaieed was designated the constituency seat of constituency no. 11. It would remain constituency seat in the next three consecutive elections until the fifth municipal elections in 2015 when it was merged into constituency no. 20. In the inaugural municipal elections in 1999, Mohammed Hamad Al Shawi Al Marri won the elections, receiving 48.8%, or 60, of the votes. The runner-up that year was Saud Al Awad Al Dosari, who had 41.5%, or 51, of the votes. Mansour Salem Al-Hajri was elected in the 2002 elections. For the third municipal elections in 2007, Saeed Ali Al-Marri was elected constituency representative. Al-Marri successfully retained his seat in the 2011 elections.
Mesaieed forms the eastern boundary of the southern desert region, which occupies 34.7% of Qatar's total area. Of the four sub-regions of the southern desert, Mesaieed is a part of the trapezoidal-shaped hamada sub-group, which has its western boundary at Abu Nakhla, the water pipeline running between the two demarcating the base of this zone. The surface is covered by a mosaic of closely packed pebbles and rock fragments or, in some places, by a thin layer of indurated mineral deposits forming a hard crust.
The eastern section is situated over a low, rocky promontory which is enclosed by on the coast. The sabkha region is long and between and wide. The southern portion of Mesaieed is characterized by Dunes. These dunes are in a state of constant migration, propelled by the dominant north-northwestern wind known locally as shamal. To the northeast of the coast, where the residential section is located, there are Hillock which lie 9 m above sea level. Roughly 262 hectares of Avicennia marina are found around Mesaieed's coastline.
The residual soils are overlain with aeolian deposits. It lies on limestone bedrock, which is found at depths 0.25 m to 8 m above sea level. The industrial area's strategic location and the high water table help ensure that Mesaieed's groundwater remains unpolluted.
In a 2010 survey of Mesaieed's coastal waters conducted by the Qatar Statistics Authority, it was found that its maximum depth was and minimum depth was . The waters had an average pH of 7.87, a salinity of 52.47 psu, an average temperature of 22.91°C and 5.47 mg/L of dissolved oxygen.
Common vegetation found in Mesaieed include reeds ( Phragmites australis) in wet areas, desert thumbs ( Cynomorium coccineum) near the coast, the damas tree (Conocarpus lancifolius) near the industrial area, nafayj ( Pulicaria gnaphalodes) in depressions and , shanan (Soda rosmarinus) on sand dunes and sabkhas, and thalj ( Cornulaca monacantha).
The following is climate data for Mesaieed obtained from the Qatar Statistics Authority.
The industrial area accommodates the main plants of the following companies:
The sand dunes on the eastern coast are known as 'Singing sand' because of the sounds they produce.
In 2012, Barwa Group launched a construction project in the southern zone of Mesaieed to establish a large tourist resort over an area of .
Al Afjah Heritage Village is a cultural attraction located on the western boundaries of Mesaieed.
In October 1970, a major government construction project was launched to connect Mesaieed to Doha with a modern highway. Costing 14 million Qatari riyals, the construction of Mesaieed Road was awarded to the Japanese firm Taisei. The completed road, approximately in length, was designed to accommodate heavy industrial traffic from the industrial area and significantly reduce travel times between Doha and Mesaieed.
In 1977, a road system scheme was designed by William Pereira and work was commenced by the Ashghal. The construction was completed that year, with the road system extending to both the city proper and the industrial area.
There is a public bus service from Mesaieed to Al Ghanim Bus Station in Doha every 30 minutes.
The Mesaieed Master Plan was devised in 2006 and its contents guide the city's development over 25 years from 2006 until 2030. It outlines the distribution of land for public and private infrastructure, such as power, petrochemical industries, non-petrochemical industries, residential units, , shipping, and waste disposal.
There are five banks active in Mesaieed: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Doha Bank, Qatar National Bank (QNB), Commercial Bank Qatar (CBQ), and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC). HSBC is located inside a state-of-the-art post office (the second largest in Qatar). The QNB branch, established in 1974, was one of the bank's first branches inaugurated outside the confines of Doha.
Adjacent to the shopping centre is a large souq or market known as Souq Mesaieed. The souq comprises both residential units and commercial spaces and occupies an area of 45,576 m2. As of 2021, there are over 100 businesses located in the souq, ranging from salons and laundry services to restaurants and cafes. Also included within the souq are 70 units of commercial offices.
There is a sports complex in Mesaieed which hosts national sports tournaments organized by QatarEnergy.
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