International firms hoping to bid for work on construction projects for the Qatar 2022 World Cup are advised to start the company registration process at least six months before bidding for any work.

Speaking at MEED’s Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) in Abu Dhabi, Thomas Wilson, partner in the law firm Kilpatrick Townsend, said that the company registration process suffers from a number of bottlenecks and it can take a minimum of six months before contractors and consultancies are legally registered and able to tender for work.

‘’There is a particular bottleneck with the committee that has oversight for registering engineering consultants, so companies wanting to get into Qatar should get on to it very quickly,’’ said Wilson.

Wilson also advised contractors tendering for World Cup projects to ensure that dispute resolution instructions are included in contracts.

Due to the large volume of work planned for the sports event, any protracted contractual disputes would make it difficult to deliver all of the projects on time, said Wilson.