The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has completed 90% of roads leading to stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a feat that the agency has accomplished despite the ongoing economic blockade, an official told Gulf Times.
“I am proud to say that 90% of the highways that will serve the stadiums for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 have been completed. The stadiums will be served by certain highways and most of the construction work for these facilities has been done,” said Yousef al-Emadi, manager, highway projects department, at Ashghal.
He added, “Despite the economic blockade, Ashghal, through its engineers and top management, and especially the support provided by the government, was able to deliver its projects on schedule and had overcome the challenges of the blockade.
“We assured the government and the top management in Ashghal that we will move forward without any hesitation and to continue with our programmes. We can guarantee that we will be able to finish all projects even before the country will start hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022.”
Al-Emadi said that Ashghal had accomplished many infrastructure milestones in 2018 and had started 2019 with another accomplishment, such as the partial opening of Qatar’s longest and deepest bi-directional tunnel.
On Saturday, al-Emadi, together with engineers and other government dignitaries, was present at the partial opening of the tunnel that is part of the construction of the Al Rayyan Road upgrade project phase two.
The new tunnel is a major link between Bu Erayen and Lebday Streets, spanning the Al Mokafaha and Lebday interchange. The tunnel is 1.5km long and sits 25m below ground level, making it the longest and deepest bi-directional tunnel in Qatar. At this initial stage, two out of four lanes in each direction will be delivered, accommodating 8,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.
Last month, a Qatar News Agency (QNA) report quoted Ashghal president Dr Saad bin Ahmad al-Muhannadi as saying that roads leading to the World Cup stadiums “will be completed by 2020.”
Al-Muhannadi had said that construction work along the Al Khor Expressway will be completed by the end of 2019. The expressway, he said, is directly connected to the Lusail Stadium, linking the northern and eastern regions of the country. It is also linked to the Orbital Road, which facilitates the trip to the stadium from the southern and western regions.
The QNA also reported that the Lusail Expressway project is “one of the most important projects” of the Ashghal’s highway programme. It is located in a vital area linking Doha with Lusail City, and connects many public destinations such as The Pearl, Katara, the Diplomatic area, and a large number of residential neighbourhoods, hotels, commercial complexes, and other facilities, as well as Lusail Stadium.
