Parts of a new entertainment complex that caters to Qatar’s low-income expat population are set to open in the first week of October, the Peninsula reports.

The long-awaited facility, dubbed the West End Park, is located in the Industrial Area. It will include an amphitheater, shopping mall, four-cinema complex and cricket stadium.

The complex also boasts a Grand Mall Hypermarket, which opens as part of the first phase next month. But the entire facility, which will include some 80,000 residential units, won’t be fully operational at least until mid-2014.

The Peninsula reports:

“Between 60 and 70 percent of our customers will be single workers,” said Mohamed Jabir, Group Marketing Head of the UAE-based Regency Group, which manages the Grand Mall Hypermarket…

“We will have shuttle bus service from key locations in the Industrial Area to the mall,” said Jabir.

Previously, officials have also said “affordably-priced” exhibitions and events, such as an Indian National Independence Day festival and Chinese New Year celebrations, will be hosted at the complex.

When it opens, West End Park will offer much-needed entertainment options for many of the men who live in the Industrial Area and are banned from entering some of Qatar’s malls and parks on Fridays, due to a “family day” policy.

Many workers who have previously spoken to Doha News welcomed the idea of the facility, but some residents have said it fosters social divisions.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Mai Akkad