The 10-lane, tree-lined highway outside of Qatar’s capital is free of traffic. The road appears wide and ready to accommodate all the cars in the Gulf Peninsula, and as the cars head north they pass Lusail Stadium, the huge 80,000-seat stadium that will host the FIFA World Cup final on December 18 . .
In just 20 minutes, you will reach the Al-Bayt Stadium, where one of the two semi-final matches will take place. Qatar has delivered on its promise to host an unprecedented World Cup: football fans should have no problem attending more than one match a day. .
But the efforts of the wealthy Gulf state to host the world’s most famous sporting event for over 10 years are less impressive, according to The Economist, when you walk down the narrow road after passing through the Al-Bayt stadium, at the end of which there is a fan. a village in Al Khor that promises guests a “luxurious and enjoyable stay” with swimming pools and restaurants, but room rates start at 1,512 rials ($415) per night.
Until the end of October, according to the British newspaper, the site did not seem interesting or luxurious and was not yet completed, as bulldozers are located, giant cables appear, and the place looks more like a desert camp than a luxury resort.
Heading towards the creek looks like a microcosm of Qatar’s preparations for the World Cup. First, the good news: the expensive infrastructure is ready, with all eight creatively designed stadiums built. Al-Bayt Stadium is shaped like a Bedouin tent, while 974 Stadium is a colorful structure made from recycled shipping containers (the number is Qatar’s international dialing code).
In addition to the stadiums, many new roads have been built, and a new metro line worth about $36 billion will allow fans to travel around Doha (free of charge). Doha’s main airport, already one of the best in the world, has been prepared for the tournament, and the old airport has been reopened to handle the increase in aircraft.
According to estimates published by The Economist, the cost of all this is close to 300 billion dollars.
On the other hand, Qatar is undergoing a different kind of change, such as reforms to the sponsorship system for migrant workers.
The International Labor Organization estimates that the new minimum wage has increased the income of 400,000 workers, but other problems remain, such as some workers not receiving their contributions and exorbitant recruitment fees.
So far so good, but incoming fans need places to sleep, and Qatar has sold almost two million nights in hotels ranging from five-star hotels to tent cities.
Earlier in October, it added another 30,000 rooms (or nearly a million nights) for last-minute bookings, and Omar Al Jaber, executive director of housing at the High Committee on Shipping and Heritage, boasted of dhows that could be turned into “floating boats.” apartments”, with luxurious beds and a jacuzzi on the upper deck.
But there are only 30 dhows, the largest of which can hold 10 people, and more fans will end up in places like Barwa Barahat Al Janoub, a large residential complex offering rooms for 300 riyals a night that Al Jaber says can accommodate 10 000 people. guests as “heavy construction work.. they are installing some beds.. and testing the water (..) but we can say that 99% (of the work) is completed.”
the work is over?
But the Economist report, released on Wednesday, November 2, 18 days before the start of the tournament, indicates that some of the roads leading to the residential complex are still unpaved. While the reservation site describes it as “inspired by traditional Arab houses built around courtyards,” it doesn’t mention that the site is ten kilometers (six miles) from the nearest metro station, but officials promise to address the issue with shuttle buses, in while there are no restaurants or shops for several miles.
According to the report, officials in Qatar insist they are not exaggerating promises that the work is completed, the complex is ready and things could change by the time the tournament kicks off on November 20, and workers are working around the clock, The Economist notes. to another fan village located in the free zone. Near the port, work is still in full swing.
But finding a place to eat can take some patience. The restaurants at Souq Waqif, a traditional market considered one of Doha’s most important tourist attractions, were almost completely booked on the weekend evening, and the same was true for the restaurants. cafes of the West Bay area, an area filled with upscale hotels and restaurants.
All of this worries a number of fans and residents, with many Qataris looking forward to the tournament that Qatar was commissioned to host in December 2010, while others fear, for example, that traffic will become unbearable, or that restaurants will overflow and the streets will be filled with drunken hooligans.
While schools will be closed for the month of the World Cup, parents are wondering what they will do with their children during this period, some are planning to spend a month abroad, and others are quietly wondering if it’s worth it.
Qatar says it would have built most of this brilliant infrastructure as part of its national development plan anyway. According to a British newspaper, the wide highways seem much more than what a country of about 3 million people needs, but the championship that the world expects every 4 years could make Qatar a top destination for tourism and major events.
