The UAE/Australian Habtoor Leighton Group has begun piling works on Katara Towers in the Lusail City development in Qatar.  

The two arched towers will host a five-star hotel catering to business travellers and a luxury hotel that will include branded apartments.  

The property will offer 614 rooms, along with entertainment and recreational facilities, specialist boutiques, movie theatres and restaurants.

Designed by architectural firm Kling Consult, the hospitality complex will cover a total area of about 300,000 square meters. Tenders for construction works are expected to be floated in the middle of next year.

The complex is part of the Lusail City scheme, which will comprise 19 districts housing up to 200,000 people, north of Doha. State-backed Qatari Diar established Lusail Real Estate Development Company (LREDC) in 2008 as a subsidiary to develop the project. Two years later, LREDC formed a joint venture with German contractor Hochtief to provide planning and construction services.

Progress on the scheme stalled in late 2008 due to the collapse of the region’s real estate market amid the global economic crisis. The project was revived after Qatar won the right to host the 2022 Fifa football World Cup in December 2010.