The main construction contract for another 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar was awarded this week to a joint venture of Qatar-based Al Balagh Trading & Contracting and India’s largest construction firm, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SCDL) said yesterday that the JV will be tasked with rebuilding Al Rayyan Stadium in three year’s time.
In a statement, SCDL secretary-general Hassan Al Thawadi said:
“This marks an important milestone in our progress and preparations. The impact of this stadium and its surrounding precinct will be felt long before the stadium is finished.”
The committee did not immediately respond to questions about the value of the contract. However, Reuters cited an unnamed government official as pegging the price tag at $135 million.
The upcoming 40,000-seat Al Rayyan Stadium has already received a design award this year from a panel of international sports facility experts.
The stadium’s facade is formed from seven patterns representing different aspects of Qatari culture that blend together to form a single design.
The shapes draw on Islamic geometric influences and are similar to the theme seen in the facade of the Burj Qatar building in West Bay/Dafna.
Structures housing hospitality zones, concession areas and other services will be built to resemble sand dunes and will dot the stadium grounds.
The area around the stadium will include a mosque, aquatics center, shaded walkways, cycling and running tracks, outdoor fitness equipment as well as a new branch of sports medicine service provider Aspetar, the SCDL has said.
Construction
Al Rayyan Stadium is being constructed some 20km west of Doha’s city center on the former site of the now-deconstructed Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
The old facility was supposed to be refurbished for the World Cup, but was torn down instead to meet FIFA’s technical requirements.
In addition to demolishing the old facility, construction crews have already been busy excavating at the stadium site in preparation for the main contractors to start work.
By early April, some 210,000 cubic meters of rock and sand had been removed from the area as workers dug down 6m for the foundation, parking areas and new pitch, the SCDL said at the time.
The new Al Rayyan Stadium is scheduled to be completed by 2019, three years before the start of the World Cup.
After the tournament, its capacity will be reduced from 40,000 to 20,000 and the facility will become the new home of the Al-Rayyan Sports Club.
The stadium is one of at least eight that will be used for the World Cup. Five, including Al Rayyan, are currently under construction and all are scheduled to be completed by 2020.
Earlier this week, the SCDL posted a notice in local newspapers asking construction firms to officially indicate their interest in leading the construction of another World Cup stadium.
SCDL did not immediately respond to a request for more information on that project.
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