The local Qatar National Hotels Company (QNH) has put its estimated $500m twin towers hotel project at Lusail City on hold.

The 48,500 square-metre scheme was put on hold in early 2010, although the state-owned hotel developer is yet to formally announce the decision, says a source close to the project.

A QNH confirms to MEED that the project is hold, declining to comment of whether or not the company had plans to revive it at a later date.  

QNH is still considering different designs and masterplans for the project, but would need a decision from its board of directors to move ahead with it, says the representative.

Initially launched in July 2007, the twin towers scheme was designed by the local Hadi Simaan Architects and included two 45-storey towers connected at podium level by a 30,000 sq m shopping mall.

The hotel tower was designed to include 16 executive suites, 98 junior suites and 720 king-size and twin rooms. It also featured an executive level lounge, luxury dining facilities and a helipad.  

The second tower contained an undisclosed number of hotel serviced apartments including multi-bedroom flats and penthouse condominiums.

Masterplan and detailed design of the project was completed by a joint venture of UK engineers Hyder Consulting and Halcrow and Denmark’s Cowi. Egypt’s Ehaf Consulting Engineers was originally brought in to manage the project.  

The local Qatari Diar launched the Lusail Real Estate Development Company in late-2008 to oversee all construction and development in the 35-square-kilometre city (MEED 23:9:08).