Preparations for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup has achieved a significant milestone as 200 million work hours has been completed on World Cup projects.
This also means around 75 percent of the work, for one of the biggest and most anticipated events in the world, is completed.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) organised a ceremony to recognise the efforts of the workers, who are one of the main stakeholders of these projects. The authorities have been working tirelessly to make this one of the most modern and sustainable events in the region, which will leave a social legacy everyone in the country can be proud of and future hosts can emulate.
During the course of developing world-class infrastructure for the marquee event to be held in 2022, SC, with the help of other government and private agencies, has bought in sea change into the lives of workers involved in World Cup projects.
The recent announcement that 160 contractors engaged on 2022 FIFA World Cup projects have agreed to reimburse more than $25m to thousands of workers who paid recruitment fees prior to moving to Qatar is a great step forward as it will not only help the worker involved in the constructions here, but also will positively impact the lives of his family back home.
Workers have also benefitted from the systematic grievance redress mechanism, which allows them to raise matters of concern without fear of retaliation. The SC’s flagship grievance platform, the Workers’ Welfare Forum (WWF), was lauded by many international labour organisations and many agencies are studying it to for wider implementations.
The work of stadiums and training facilities has been progressing at a fast pace that two more stadiums — Al Rayyan Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium - are expected to be ready in the second half of 2019. This year already saw the launch of iconic Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah City and the construction of three training clusters. The Khalifa International Stadium is already renovated, re-opened and ready for action.
The action on the field is also moving forward with the round two draw of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday. Qatar, the 2022 host, is drawn in Group E alongside Bangladesh, Oman, India and Afghanistan.
As the action kicks in on the football pitches, the action on the constructions sites are peaking and let us wow the world with a magnificent tournament, which is built on sustainable and human policies and practices.
