Qatar Launches Mega Bridge Project Ahead Of World Cup 2022

Qatar announced one of the county’s largest infrastructure projects on Monday, comprising three bridges interconnected by subsea tunnels, to be completed before the soccer World Cup finals in 2022.

The Sharq crossing project will include three bridges spanning between 600 metres and 1,310 metres, which will link Doha’s new Hamad International airport with the city’s cultural district of Katara and the central business area of West Bay.

“Construction of the project will start in 2015 and completion will be by 2021,” Nasser Ali Al Mawlawi, the president of Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal, told reporters at a press conference.

No value was given for the project.

The tiny, gas-rich country plans to spend as much as $140 billion on infrastructure projects, including a new airport, stadiums, roads and railways, as it prepares to host the World Cup tournament.

It awarded contracts worth $8.2 billion in June to international and local contractors for the construction of phase one of the Doha Metro project.

Al Mawlawi said in an interview with Reuters that Ashghal plans to spend more than QAR100 billion on its projects over the next five to seven years.

“The project that was unveiled today will be paid for by the government of Qatar,” he added.

The bridges on the Sharq project were designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and inspired by the image of flying fish, Ashghal said in a statement, adding that one of the bridges will have a two-deck structure incorporating a recreational park accessible via an elevated walkway and a funicular railway.

Asked if Ashghal was behind schedule in delivering projects for the World Cup, Al Mawlawi said there were no delays and downplayed challenges in completing projects on time.

Faced with the challenge of completing big construction and infrastructure projects before the World Cup, the Gulf state has an increasing number of its estimated 1.8 million foreigners working on projects related to football’s showcase event.

In recent months Qatar came under attack from the international community as reports of labour rights abuses surfaced. Al Mawlawi said that the issue of labour rights is being taken very seriously by the government.

“In Qatar we have very fair labour laws and I think it’s the responsibility of Ashghal to insure that these labour laws are being implemented by the contractors,” he said.

Under the current system, employees cannot change jobs or leave the country without the permission of their sponsors, who are often labour supply companies or wealthy Qataris who provide workers to businesses for personal profit.