Fifty days before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, workers pour concrete and work through the night to prepare luxury hotels and affordable housing for more than a million visitors during the global event.
Hundreds of foreign workers work inside the 211-meter Katara towers shaped like intertwined swords, where FIFA VIP guests will stay during the tournament, which starts on November 20.
The rich will spend thousands of dollars a night on rooms with marble wine cellars in a hotel whose lobby is adorned with one of the largest chandeliers in the world.
But mountains of sand still lie on the stairs, and some dark glass windows are missing from this Lusail waterfront landmark, not far from the stadium that will host the final match on December 18.
“Everyone is working around the clock,” said an engineer who worked on the project, who declined to be named.
“We need to wait to see if everything will be fixed to satisfy people who pay large sums,” the expert added.
A spokesman for the Accor Group, which will operate the Fairmont and Raffles hotels at Katara Towers, insisted they would be ready to host “Fifa guests” during the World Cup and then officially reopen after the tournament.
50 thousand dollars a night
Forty kilometers from the village of Barwa in Barahat al-Janub, an army of workers is busy under floodlights at night and scorching sun during the day, preparing apartments for the masses looking for housing at $84 a night to get a steel bed in a common room.
The almost desert-like Barwa complex is expected to accommodate more than 7,500 visitors and will later be used by thousands of foreign workers supporting the development of Qatar’s oil and gas economy.
A source at the project, located about 10 kilometers from a subway station, said hundreds of rooms have yet to be fitted out and that workers are in a “race against time.”
A spokesman for the Organizing Committee of the Supreme Committee on Delivery and Legacy stated: “All accommodation options for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be ready before fans, teams and officials arrive in Qatar for the tournament.”
He added that teams and fans will have a “convenient list” at their disposal.
On the other hand, luxurious towers and simple working spaces will play an important role in accommodating the fans of the participating teams.
The organizers expect the arrival of more than a million visitors and the arrangement of 130,000 rooms in hotels, apartments, cruise ships and tents in the desert.
But some fans have already complained about the high prices and availability of rooms.
In contrast, bookings are expected to rise in other Gulf cities such as Dubai, with the arrival of fans who do not want to stay in Qatar. This is due to allegations denied by Doha regarding the rights of foreign workers, the absence of alcohol, the restriction of public freedoms and the impact on the environment.
– Ships and tents. There will be three cruise ships at the Port of Doha that can accommodate up to 13,000 people and cost between $179 and $800 per night.
For $423 a night, fans can sleep in air-conditioned beachfront tents in Al Khor, north of Doha, with en suite bathrooms, TV screens and luxurious amenities.
Thousands of traditional tents have also been set up, where fans can spend time in a Qatari-style campsite without air conditioning. The organizers have not yet announced prices.
Some Qatari owners are looking to take advantage of the World Cup by demanding more than $4,000 a night for a Doha apartment. The two bedroom chalet is listed on booking.com for around $50,000 per night.
While FIFA has booked 80% of Doha’s 30,000 hotel rooms, some suites are offered on the open market for $5,500 a night.
“There’s a lot of price negotiation going on,” says a Doha-based tourism manager.
Nasser Al-Khater, CEO of the 2022 World Cup, stressed in a TV interview this week that official housing is being subsidized to keep prices low: “The private sector also provides housing and they have the right to set the price they see fit. .”
