Main Contractor announced at Qatar Foundation Stadium

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has announced the Main Contractor on Qatar Foundation Stadium, led by Cyprus-based contractor Joannou & Paraskevaides (J&P), with J&P Qatar WLL, Conspel Qatar WLL, J& P‐Avax S.A and J&P (Overseas) Ltd being awarded the contract as a joint-venture. The stadium, located in Doha’s Education City, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. The venue will host fixtures up to the quarter-final stage during the 2022 FIFA World Cup™. 

His Excellency, Hassan Al Thawadi, SC Secretary General, said:

We are pleased with the progress of Qatar Foundation Stadium and are hitting our construction deadlines. With the Main Contractor now appointed, we look forward to watching it grow from foundation level to full completion in 2019. Over the next four years we’ll be working closely with our new partners to ensure we deliver an outstanding, legacy-orientated stadium at Education City that will serve the community long after the last ball is kicked.

The project is being delivered in conjunction with ASTAD PROJECT MANAGEMENT, a wholly owned Qatari Company, who assumed the role of Project Management, Construction Management and Construction Supervision.

Speaking at the press conference to announce the contract award, Engineer Hilal Al-Kuwari, Technical Delivery Office Chairman at the SC, said:

Today marks a major step in Qatar Foundation Stadium’s progress. This signing demonstrates the progress being made as we head towards 2022, with five stadiums sites now at main construction stage. The next 12 months will be crucial for the tournament’s progression as we prepare another three sites for works, with the SC and its partners managing eight live construction sites by mid-2017.

G.C.Christofides, CEO of Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) Ltd, said:

Speaking on behalf of all of those involved in this joint-venture we are honoured to have been chosen to work on this historic FIFA World Cup. Qatar Foundation Stadium will be one of Qatar’s most stunning World Cup venues so we are thrilled that the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy entrusted this group with the delivery of such a monumental project. We look forward to working together with all the stakeholders from now until its successful delivery in 2019 and that first game in 2022.

The most recent work completed in July 2016 included further bulk excavation works of a total volume of 650,000 cubic meters to formation level, and implementation of a dewatering system for the next main-package contractor.

By the end of 2016, the main-works contractor will be fully mobilised on site, progressing with the schematic design, finishing the foundation works and securing a substantial portion of the structural steel for the super structure.

The Qatar Foundation Stadium is located within the Hamad Bin Khalifa Sports Complex located in the Western area of the Education City South campus. The stadium will have a net capacity of 40,000 spectators, which will be reduced to a net capacity of 25,000 seats after the tournament to fulfil Education City’s own legacy needs for world-class multipurpose sports facilities.

Engineer Yasir Al Jamal, Technical Delivery Office Vice-Chairman at the SC, said:

We made a commitment in our bid that each and every stadium built for the World Cup in Qatar will leave a lasting legacy for local communities. Six years on, we’re just as committed. Qatar Foundation and its surrounding precinct is one of the best examples of how the venues will benefit Qatar’s residents long after the tournament, with world-class sporting facilities available for all, promoting healthy living and wellness to all.

In addition to football, the stadium will be able to stage leisure and entertainment events such as concerts and performances with different pitch and seating configurations for various other sports.

Earlier this year, during early works, the Qatar Foundation Stadium construction team unearthed samples of ‘Dukhan rock’ dating back approximately 20 to 30 million years during an excavation of 1.37 million cubic metres.

Eid Al Qahtani, Project Manager at the SC, said:

As we dug down deeper on site, we came across interesting and distinct colour bandings on the rock formations. 

We discovered that the rocks in question originated under water, forming a layer known as the middle-Eocene epoch. This is a remarkable find for a stadium construction site, as usually this type of rock is only found in deeper tunnelling works, conducted by the likes of Qatar Rail.

Revealed in a ceremony in 2014, Qatar Foundation Stadium design is inspired by complex geometrical patterns designed to pay tribute to traditional Islamic architecture.

Qatar Foundation Stadium will become the focal point for Education City’s sporting facilities, as part of the foundation’s mission to community development.

Qatar Foundation’s campus is home to eight branch campuses of some of the world’s most prestigious universities, as well as home-grown educational establishments, student accommodation and research and development companies.
Qatar Foundation was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misnad, with a class of around 30 for Qatar Academy’s first year. It is estimated Education City’s community will grow to 50,000 by 2022.