LONDON: Major Western contractors for the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar are working on departure plans as its continuing dispute with Gulf neighbors could delay the country’s £160 billion construction program.
A World Cup supplier, who declined to be named citing client sensitivities, warned fresh sanctions threatened by the UAE last week could shift the dial in favor of companies leaving, the British newspaper Telegraph reported.
“We have a team working on contingency planning,” the source said. “Should further sanctions come in companies will have to reassess their investment and their presence in Qatar. If the risk profile changes we would take evasive action to protect our investments and our people.”
Qatar is entering into a crucial phase of its build up for the Fifa tournament, with British and American firms, including star architects Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, engineer Arup and US program managers CH2M and Aecom, playing leading roles on World Cup stadium projects.
FTSE 250-listed contractors Interserve and Carillion, consultants Turner & Townsend, Gleeds and RLB also have a presence in Qatar.
Qatar has not confirmed the number of World Cup 2020 stadiums, which it plans to build on a staggered basis over a three-year period from 2018-2021, although it is expected to construct eight.
The country however has began cutting some of the peripheral projects for the football tournament as declining gas prices have put pressure on the government budget.
The Telegraph also said that another contractor viewed Qatar’s row with fellow Gulf Arab states as a “difference of principle that is unlikely to go away for months, maybe a year”.
Although the company was not itself working on contingency plans, it added: “I’ve spoken to competitors who are saying we work in Doha and Abu Dhabi, we are going to have to choose one or the other.”
A lawyer working with the Qatari government however downplayed the talk of contingency planning as an ‘over-reaction by weak bosses in boardrooms’ and claimed Qatar’s ally Turkey could step in to help build projects.
The trade and travel blockades have already interrupted or stopped smaller projects in Qatar as contractors struggle to source the materials and labor they need.
Most of the materials required for building World Cup stadiums had been coming by land route through Saudi Arabia, which is now blocked.
However, Ghanim Al-Kuwari, executive director at the Qatari committee overseeing preparations for the World Cup, said that the blockades did not have an effect on World Cup 2022 preparations.
“We have actually organized alternative sources from other areas in order that the work on the project is not impacted,” he said, adding while some goods had come by land, most materials were coming by sea and some other materials are sourced locally.
Major World Cup 2022 contractors draw up plans to leave Qatar amid Gulf row
Major World Cup 2022 contractors draw up plans to leave Qatar amid Gulf row
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
