A Seoul-based company has been awarded a $16.2 million contract to design Qatar’s Al Thumama World Cup stadium.

Heerim Architects and Planners Co. announced the agreement in a stock exchange statement this week, according to Zawya.

The South Korean firm has previously designed a stadium used by UEFA in Azerbaijan in 2015 and the main stadium for the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

The Qatar contract was awarded by the main contractor on the Al Thumama project, which is a joint venture between Al Jaber Engineering and Turkish firm Tekfen Construction.

The $342.5 million stadium, located between E-Ring and F-Ring roads, is expected to host matches up to the quarter-final stage.

It will seat some 40,000 fans, and like several other Qatar stadiums, be dismantled to accommodate half that many people after 2022.

Other stadiums

Qatar is currently readying eight stadiums for the 2022 World Cup. It will complete its first venue, the renovated Khalifa International, next month.

Others won’t be done until at least 2020. That includes Al Thumama and two other stadiums whose designs have yet to be finalized.

The most anticipated one is the Lusail Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the tournament.

In 2015, officials announced that British firm Foster + Partners would work with sports and stadium experts including ARUP and Populous to create the final design for the arena.

It will be an “iconic, contemporary stadium inspired by Qatari culture,” the head of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SCDL) Hassan Al Thawadi said at the time.

Meanwhile, the Ras Abu Aboud stadium is also still being designed. It will be located on a waterfront and when completed, face the Doha skyline.

Global architecture firm Populous is also working on the design for that venue, the SCDL said on its website.

Additionally, the main contractor for the Ras Abu Abboud project is expected to be chosen by June of this year.

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