*The 880,000sq m facility is one of the largest and most diverse nurseries in the region

The Tree Nursery of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), is growing the turf required for the 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums and the trees that will fill the green spaces surrounding them, was inaugurated on Thursday in the Umm Salal area north of Doha.

HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi led the inauguration of the first-of-its-kind environmental facility spread across an area of more than 880,000sqm (equal to the size of Aspire Park).

“This is a very important project for green areas around all the stadiums that we are going to build. We consider it as a very important investment from our side for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and for the future,” HE al-Rumaihi told reporters at the event.

He was joined by SC secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi and Public Works Authority (Ashghal) president Dr Saad bin Ahmed al-Mohannadi on the occasion.

The event was also attended by SC’s Technical Delivery Office chairman engineer Hilal al-Kuwari, SC’s Tournament Affairs assistant secretary general Nasser al-Khater, SC’s Technical Delivery assistant secretary general engineer Yasir al-Jamal, SC’s sports facility management executive director engineer Ghanim al-Kuwari, and SC’s project manager engineer Yasser al-Mulla.

HE al-Rumaihi said the nursery is ready to fill the surrounding areas of two of the World Cup stadiums, Al Bayt and Khalifa, this year with various kinds of trees and shrubs.

Located close to the Doha North Sewage Treatment Works Plant, the facility contains more than 16,000 trees and 679,000 shrubs with turf spanning an area of 425,000sq m.

Hosting 60 different types of trees and shrubs from Qatar, Thailand and Spain, the Tree Nursery is described by the SC as one of the largest and most diverse nurseries in the region.



Various kinds of trees from different parts of Qatar have been replanted at the SC Tree Nursery

According to HE al-Rumaihi, the sewage treatment plant irrigates all the areas of the nursery with “third degree recycled water,” which makes it environmentally sustainable.

Al-Thawadi said one of the unique elements of the nursery is that it also grows trees that have been recycled from different parts of the country.

“We’ve taken around 5,000 trees from people and replanted them over here,” he added, stressing the project forms part of SC’s commitment to ensure that the 2022 FIFA World Cup leaves a lasting and sustainable environmental legacy for Qatar.

Al-Thawadi noted that the nursery is introducing new types of trees to the ecological landscape in Qatar, which contributes to biological diversity.

“As such, it supports the realisation of the Environmental Development pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030, focused on preserving and protecting the environment to ensure a cleaner future for the next generation,” he said.

SC is also mulling to transform the nursery into a public park or garden after the tournament for residents and visitors to enjoy.