Qatar is currently setting up an organisational structure to plan and coordinate for the $60bn of infrastructure work that will be required for the state to host the 2022 World Cup.

Doha is creating a steering committee to oversee the construction programme. The committee will be headed by Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, one of the sons of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa, who was the chairman of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid committee. The steering committee will replace the bid committee, which is being disbanded.

The steering committee will be in charge of coordinating the construction programme and selecting programme managers for the development work that is required over the next 12 years.

“When the steering committee has been fully formed and approved by the cabinet, we will have a better idea of how the construction programme is to be structured,” said one consultant based in Doha.

Consultants in Doha are expecting the committee to split the building work into two main construction programmes, consisting of primary and secondary assets. Primary assets would comprise infrastructure and stadiums, while secondary assets would contain projects such as hotels and campuses. A programme manager is expected to be appointed for each section.

The steering committee will be in charge of coordinating the work of the programme managers and relevant government authorities, such as the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), to ensure the $60bn construction programme runs to plan.

Prospective bidders for the programme management contracts may include:

• CH2M Hill (US)
• Fluor (US)
• Hill International (US)
• KBR (US)
• Keo International Consultants (local)
• Parsons International (US)
• Parsons Brinckerhoff (US)

In preparation for the 2006 Asian Games, Qatar set up The Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (DAGOC) to oversee the development work for the games. In 2002, it appointed an Australian consortium, headed by GHD, as the prime consultant and programme manager.

The GHD-led consortium included architecture firms The Cox Group and Peddle, Thorp & Walker, Sporting Frontiers, Capital Group and Tafe Global.

The consortium was awarded a contract divided into two parts. The first involved the preparation of a masterplan, while the second involved assisting DAGOC in planning and implementation (MEED 26:7:02).

Football’s World Cup will be a much larger undertaking for the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter.

Doha will spend $4bn on building nine new stadiums and upgrading the existing Al-Rayyan, Al-Gharafa and Khalifa stadiums. This will include the Lusail Stadium, which will have a capacity of more than 86,000 people and is to be used for the opening and closing matches.

However, the stadiums will make up just a small percentage of the development work the Gulf state will undertake in the run-up to the tournament.

International football governing body Fifa requires that the host country have a minimum of 60,000 hotel rooms. Doha has pledged to have 80,000-90,000 by 2022, and with current hotel-room figure estimated at 10,000 to 15,000, Qatar will have to build an estimated 70,000 new rooms over the next 12 years.

In addition to stadiums and accommodation, hosting the World Cup requires an expansive infrastructure and transport network. Qatar plans to spend $20bn on road developments in the coming years. Doha’s current road links are in urgent need of improvements and with so many new stadiums and hotels planned, the country will require several new connecting routes.

Doha is also planning to spend $25bn on developing rail schemes to assist with moving people between matches. In addition to the four-line Doha Metro, the investment includes high-speed rail links between New Doha International airport, Doha city centre and across the proposed Qatar-Bahrain causeway into Bahrain (MEED 10:12:10).