Al Bayt Stadium, one of the stadiums of the FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022), will serve as a model of stadium construction in the future as a world-class edifice that combines heritage, sustainability and environment-friendly development goals, while taking into account the future societal requirements. Al Bayt Stadium, which embodies an important part of Qatar's past and simulates its present, was inspired by the traditional Arabian tent inhabited by Qataris who lived in the desert of Qatar. Project Manager for Al Bayt Stadium in the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) Eng. Mohammed Ahmed said that the design of the stadium is inspired by the traditional Arabian tent inhabited by the ancient Qataris, and known as the original Arabian tents, which is a symbol of hospitality, pointing out that the tent was built in high areas above a hill, and inhabitants start fire in front of the tent to attract guests, which was simulated when building the stadium by the surrounding lights to create a similar atmosphere. Eng. Mohamed Ahmed said in an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the stadium project is considered as one of the largest sports projects in the world, it is designed on an area of one million and 400 thousand square meters, the stadium has an energy center, cooling and KAHRAMAA stations, as well as a large garden of 400 thousand square meters and four lakes surrounding it and walking and running tracks and tracks for horses and camels.

He added that the stadium will be linked to two bridges, one on the east and the other on the west in order to meet the requirements of the International Federation of Football Association "FIFA", especially with regard to the entry and exit of VIPs, players and media. The stadium has four main outdoor playgrounds to be used for training during the tournament, six restaurants around the areas for families and children's games. The project includes more than 190 electronic gates distributed around the project for public access and exit, as well as 12 emergency tunnels, to be used in the event of a crisis. There is also a main tunnel for the services of the entry and exit of logistics mechanisms and for the delivery of food to restaurants inside the stadium. The Project Manager for Al Bayt Stadium said that there is more than a plan to take advantage of the stadium project after the end of the World Cup, most notably the conversion of part of the project to a hotel to generate financial incomes. Parks and green spaces are an important part of the stadium's design plan, which will give families an opportunity to spend their leisure time in the open air.

Eng. Mohammed Ahmed said that there is a great challenge for the completion of the stadium project at the end of 2019 despite the large size of the project and the large capacity in order to provide the opportunity to operate and test the stadium and train all logistic workers in the project. Mohammed revealed the existence of continuous communication between the SC and FIFA in various stages of building the stadium, where the FIFA is the body governing the tournament and at the same time a supervisory authority. He pointed out that the representatives of FIFA are continuing their visits to the project since the design period, where they find that the project meets all the FIFA standards and praised the work done at all stages. He noted that according to the requirements of FIFA, 95 rooms were constructed in different areas to be rented to sponsoring companies and contributors to the organization of the World Cup, revealing that these rooms are designed in a way that can be easily converted after the World Cup to a hotel room, as well as the construction of a branch of Aspetar sports hospital which is scheduled after the World Cup. The Project Manager stressed that the main point that distinguishes the stadium is a folding roof which can be folded in just 20 minutes, and will help turn the stadium into a gym that can be used in many activities, whether sports or non-sports, pointing out that the SC tried to avoid all the errors and defects that appeared in the projects of the stadiums of the World Cup in Brazil or Russia.

The main theme of the stadium, which was inspired in collaboration with Aspire Zone, is sustainability and low energy consumption, and the design of the stadium will reduce the amount of energy required to give the fans and players the cool and comfortable atmosphere inside the stadium. He explained that the cooling technology to be used in the stadium and the rest of the World Cup stadiums is a development for the second generation used at Khalifa International Stadium, the first stadium of the World Cup, which was inaugurated in May 2017, where the technology will be more sustainable, especially with regard to the use of clean energy, pointing out that the technology of cooling in the stadium is divided into several levels, the first phase is cooling the stadium for players and referees, and then cooling gradually the lower and middle and upper terraces. He added that one of the advantages of the stadium project is taking into account the sustainability and environmental points during the construction work, which has been taken into consideration since the initial designs of the project, who received a four-star certificate in the sustainability phase of the GSAS Construction Management.

The Project Manager of the stadium project stressed that fans of football outside Qatar will benefit from the legacy left by the stadium after the World Cup, where new stadiums will be constructed from nearly half the stadium's 72,000 seats. Al Khor inhabitants will also benefit from the reduced capacity stadium after the World Cup. The 32,000 seats stadium will be suitable for hosting various events after the World Cup as well as several activities to attract visitors to this coastal city. He explained that the SC plans to turn the upper part of the stadium to a five-star hotel, as well as the construction of a shopping center and restaurant area and a fitness club and a multi-purpose hall. The legacy of the stadium is expected to continue to the surrounding area by motivating people to follow a healthy lifestyle by practicing jogging, cycling, horse and camel rides, parks. The Project Manager explained that the project started in 2015 with the implementation of the project management offices, followed by the drilling and processing of the main place.

Then, the main contractor in the beginning of 2016 worked on foundation and construction of the stadium, pointing that the project is nearly achieving 50 million work hours. He revealed the presence of more than 10 thousand workers, including 8 thousand during the day and two thousand workers during the night shifts, where the project works 24 hours a day through 3 periods of work with 8 hours per shift, pointing to the recent celebration of more than 10 Million of hours without injury. The Project Manager stressed the SC commitment to the standards of the Ministry of Labor, especially during the summer, which during the period from May to September each year, prevents working outside under the sun from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. The Project Manager revealed that the materials used in the work of the stadium, are mostly from Qatar, especially the stadium chairs, which are manufactured by a Qatari local company, Coastal Trading and Engineering, as well as the precast concrete in the stadium site. He pointed out that the parts of the tent outside the stadium was manufactured in Germany, while the cutting and processing were conducted in Turkey, and the parts of the internal tent were made in France and then shipped to Turkey for cutting and processing before being shipped to Qatar. The Project Manager explained that the infrastructure of the project was implemented by a local company, Bin Omran Trading and Contracting, as well as all the work of the green areas and trees was made by a local company Al Sulaiteen Group. He pointed out that the main contractor of the stadium is an alliance of three companies, Galfar Al Misnad Engg and Contg and two other companies, one Italian and the second an international company in the field of construction.

Source: QNA

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Leena Chung

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