HOW IS FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 CHANGING QATAR’S CONSTRUCTION LANDSCAPE?

FIFA World Cup 2022 has been “a major catalyst” in driving a rapid change in Qatar, and the projects surrounding the tournament are “priority projects” and have shaped the country’s construction landscape. Panellists Gary Dodds, Country Director Qatar, Cundall and Pamela McDonald, Partner, Pinsent Masons alluded to this during the first panel of the Leaders in Construction Qatar Summit.

Dodds added: “There has been a very aggressive construction programme to complete these [priority] projects.”

Furthermore, both Dodds and McDonald deliberated on the “internationalisation” created by Qatar’s burgeoning construction and infrastructure sector. Dodds said: “We are seeing a lot of our international clients across sectors wanting to come to Qatar to be here for the large-scale tournaments and for their businesses.

“The tournament has undoubtedly attracted high-pedigree companies who want to come to Qatar, and our company is benefitting from that.”

Commenting on what changes the FIFA World Cup 2022 brought about in construction contracts and associated investment opportunities, McDonald, said: “The FIFA-related projects have been a major catalyst for quite a rapid change in Qatar. The projects that have been completed for the World Cup are in line with Qatar’s ambitions.

“A lot of these projects involve highly complex and specialised infrastructure, hence there has also been an influx of foreign investment into Qatar, and that has been hugely beneficial for local construction companies.”

McDonald also explained that the Qatari construction market has now become “more familiar with JVs or joint ventures”, and has become “more claimcentric” than it has ever been.

Citing information released by Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA), McDonald further highlighted an increase in arbitration references as well as an increase in [QICCA’s] The developer caseload, is using adding post-tensioning that the

concrete, which not only helps reduce cost Qatari construction sector is becoming

but builds the structure ef ciently “desensitised” to formal dispute resolution.