Although the opening game of the 2022 World Cup is still more than 11 years away, the country is beginning to lay the foundations of what will be the most exciting decade in its history. The Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-16 is a document that sets out the medium-term strategy for the Gulf state’s ambitious growth plans.

As expected, the 2022 World Cup is on the radar, but the country is more concerned with more immediate infrastructure projects before it starts erecting football stadiums. This is the correct strategy. A worldclass road network, rail system, airport and sea port will have a far longer-lasting legacy in real terms than hosting the world’s largest sporting event.   

For contractors looking for work in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup offers them a gold-plated guarantee that much of the work has to be commissioned and completed in a finite time frame. After working so hard to convince Fifa delegates that Qatar is capable of hosting the massive football tournament, the state now has to deliver it.

This will be paid for by Qatar’s energy reserves. With the country being the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter, finding the money will not pose any problems.

When Qatar hosts the World Cup final in 2022, it will hopefully be the crowning achievement of 11 years of hard work. It amazed the world just by being awarded the tournament. Compared with that, the rest should be easy.