The Chairman of Qatar Chamber, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the Cityscape Exhibition 2013 at Doha Exhibition Centre yesterday. Picture by Shaival Dalal
DOHA: Qatar unveiled plans yesterday to build a $5.5 billion island off the coast of Doha with floating hotels to house soccer fans expected to flock to the country for the World Cup in 2022.
Plans for Oryx Island, which would feature luxury villas, a water park and five floating hotels using cruise ships, were unveiled by Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate, part-owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The hotels would be able to house as many as 25,000 soccer fans, Barwa’s Chief Executive Abdulla Al Subaie said on the sidelines of Cityscape Qatar 2013, a real estate expo in Doha.
Demand for residences and hotel rooms are expected to increase in the state as projects for the World Cup tournament go onstream.
Qatar, the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter, has allocated 40 percent of its budget to 2016 to infrastructure projects.
“We anticipate that there will be a short-term demand for hotel rooms, so maybe it is not wise to offer all these hotel rooms for only a short time,” Al Subaie said.
“Oryx Island can accommodate 20,000 to 25,000 people. Cruise ships can be docked for one week, two weeks.
“It can be mobilised and demobilised for a short time,” he added.
Oryx Island will cost QR20bn ($5.5 billion) to build, he said, adding that the project was only in the conceptual phase.
Al Subaie said that the company had agreed to sell one million square metres of land to the 2022 Supreme Committee to build Lusail Stadium, where the closing match of the tournament will take place.
A price has not been agreed upon, he added.
Barwa, which is Qatar’s largest listed property developer, has properties in France, Switzerland and the UK and focuses on retail, office, hospitality and residential developments.
Last year it announced plans to launch a $4.9bn mixed-use Golf City project in its coastal Lusail city development, which will house 4,000 residential units and a golf course. The company has no plans to issue any bonds this year, he added.
In its second year, Cityscape Qatar 2013, saw nearly 100 companies in the real estate and construction sectors from countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Portugal, Bahrain, the UK, Oman and Lebanon. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber, officially opened the expo. Agencies
