Tribune News Network
Doha
Every year Qatar celebrates December 18 as the country’s National Day, but the celebration this year will be completely different because it coincides with the final of Qatar World Cup 2022, which makes it more glamorous and radiant in the presence of the world of football and international dignitaries in Doha.
This December is very unique because it coincided with major events and achievements that Qatar has accomplished over the last decade, where the dream began in December 2010, when Qatar announced its ability to produce 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas, which made Qatar the largest LNG exporter in the world.
In the same month, Joseph Blatter, the then president of the International Federation of Football Associations, announced that Qatar had won the honour of organising the 2022 World Cup, in a scene that has not and will not be erased from the minds of the fans in the Arab region and the whole world, as it is the first time that an Arab Middle Eastern country has succeeded in winning the honour to host.
During this period of time, Qatar has not ceased to work hard under the auspices of the wise government and the directions of the Amir of the State of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as Qatar has actually turned into a real business workshop.
In this context, QBA Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani said that the National Day of 2022 will remain unforgettable because it comes along with major achievements during the reign of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, adding that since the announcement of Qatar’s winning of organising the World Cup, the government, in partnership with the private sector, has been working hard to finalise infrastructure projects and other service projects.
Highlighting that the World Cup is a unique opportunity to achieve the goals of Qatar Vision 2030, Sheikh Faisal said, "More than $220 billion has been spent on basic facilities such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, subways, housing, tourism, and free zones, and this infrastructure will turn into gains later after the tournament.”
He said, "The World Cup will be a strong point for attracting foreign investment, which is what we are currently working on through our external presence and efforts to promote Qatar, and it will reflect positively on the country’s future as an investment and tourism destination capable of raising the challenges of competition.”
QBA First Deputy Hussein Al Fardan said that what Qatar has achieved during the last 10 years represents a miracle. It was achieved by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of the state of Qatar, who continues the path of glory and pride of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, so we consider the National Day of 2022 to be an exceptional day of achievements.
He said, "Our country is great with its actions and achievements and was able to write a glorious history for our Arab nation through this historic World Cup, which the country should exploit in marketing Qatar as a tourism and investment destination.”
Al Fardan stressed that the infrastructure established by Qatar while preparing for the World Cup will have a major role in achieving the sustainable development goals included in Qatar’s Vision for the year 2030, as it will have a direct and indirect reflection in terms of returns on trade, transport, and services, in addition to promoting Qatar as the global capital of sports, and related specialisations such as training and rehabilitation centers for sports teams before the start of sports seasons and during rest periods, in addition to medical tourism and others.
QBA Deputy Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani said that it is a matter of pride for every Qatari to celebrate the National Day amid the country’s celebrations for a full month, with the presence of the whole world in Doha, including the business community, international stars, heads of state, kings and princes.
Therefore, the National Day of 2022 was different because it was the culmination of hard work that lasted for years of preparation.
Sheikh Khaled explained that since 2011, the state’s successive budgets began to put large expenditures in all sectors. He said, "The state has launched projects in various fields during the past ten years, and today we are proud with the crowds amidst the fascination of everyone who visited Qatar with the infrastructure that has been established and will not be limited to only the period of the World Cup, but rather extends beyond it, especially in light of the launch of huge projects in the field of liquefied gas production, and what this means in terms of providing financial resources that can be used to diversify the economic fabric of the country.”
Sheikh Khalid also added that the World Cup will be Qatar’s gateway to broader growth prospects in various economic and social fields and will contribute to further promoting Qatar’s image around the world.
Mega achievements of Qatar
Lusail City: Building a modern city with all its facilities in 10 years, Lusail City is one of the largest mega projects in Qatar. The city is 38 square kilometers in size and includes four exceptional islands, 19 multi-purpose residential areas, mixed-use areas, and entertainment and commercial areas, 230 thousand people, the expected number of the city’s population, and 450 thousand people, the expected number after adding its daily visitors. The city is expected to include 35 hotels with a capacity of 5,000 hotel rooms. Katara Hospitality Hotel will be the largest in Qatar with a capacity of 900 rooms.
As many as 37 schools and kindergartens will be established, including private and independent schools and kindergartens. The marina includes a marina that accommodates 100 boats or ships and includes entertainment venues, which is the largest in the Gulf region.
Doha Metro: Qatar Railways Company (Rail) was established in 2011 for designing and developing a unique network that provides successful solutions to transportation challenges in Qatar with the power and efficiency of the Doha Metro. Preparations for Doha Metro and Lusail Tram began with the opening of the first phase of 13 stations in 2019 out of a total of 37 stations. The company provided 110 trains to serve the crowds, and the time between one train and another was reduced from 5 minutes to two minutes on all lines, which allowed an increase and doubling of the capacity in the three metro lines, and Metro Link services operate in 43 tracks to serve 23 metro stations.
Modern road network: Qatar has completed an advanced transportation network to facilitate movement and provide safe and easy transport services for all fans and all participating groups in the tournament and its accompanying events.
According to the data of the Public Authority, Ashghal, Qatar has established 207 bridges, nearly 100 intersections, and 143 tunnels, the most prominent of which are Al Majd, Al Khor, Lusail, G-Ring Road, and Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor. The authority has also implemented 1,180 signboards to facilitate access to stadiums and many facilities related to the World Cup tournament.
More than 6 million square meters of parking spaces have been implemented to serve tournament buses and other vehicles to facilitate movement before, during, and after the tournament.
Ashghal has constructed 2,131 km of pedestrian and cycle paths on the highways, connected to all the hosting stadiums, in addition to constructing more than 16 bridges and five pedestrian tunnels.
100 new hotels: During the past years, Qatar was able to construct more than 100 new hotels within a chain of luxury hotels, bringing the total number of rooms in the country to more than 35,000 hotel rooms, and three cruise ships were equipped, with a capacity of about 4,000 rooms. The state and the private sector also provided more than 130,000 apartments for the World Cup, while one of the largest hotel companies in Europe provided 10,000 employees to manage and operate 60,000 apartments and villas during the championship competitions.
Digital cities and free internet: Qatar has completed pioneering infrastructure projects in the field of communications and digital transformation over the past years, so the World Cup 2022 will be the first version of the World Cup to rely entirely on 5G technologies, with free internet provided in all Qatari stadiums.
Developed and environment-friendly stadiums: Qatar’s stadiums are considered World Cup stadiums par excellence, in which Arab culture and Qatari originality blended, making them attractive to all, and providing the world of football with eight impressive stadiums with modern and environmentally friendly technology and sustainable legacy.
The construction and development of the World Cup stadiums were accompanied by a revolution in the field of infrastructure modernisation on the land of Qatar, sea and land ports, an airport that is the best in the world, electricity, and communications, health and educational facilities, tourism and entertainment facilities, and many other things that impress the visitor, and even the resident on the land of Qatar.