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The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has announced the beginning of the deconstruction works on Al Rayyan Stadium, located in Umm Al Afai – on the western edge of Al Rayyan Municipality – in preparation for the construction of a new 43,000-seater stadium, as Qatar continues to make progress on the delivery of its stadium plans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. |
“The beginning of works on this project and other World Cup projects reflects the commitment of Qatar to host this tournament and its eagerness to organise one of the best tournaments in the history of the World Cup,” said the Minister of Youth and Sport HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali.
“The new Al Rayyan Stadium will be an important addition to the sport infrastructure in the State of Qatar. Besides hosting a number of World Cup matches, it will play a pivotal role in the development of sport in Al Rayyan. The new facilities will encourage healthy and active lifestyles and enable Al Rayyan to host local and international sport competitions.”
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi said, “Our vision for the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East is continuing to take shape on the ground with deconstruction beginning on Al Rayyan Stadium. With work underway in different stages on five stadiums, Qatar is continuing to make progress in stadium delivery.
“With this important step, and the detailed planning that has gone into the precinct surrounding the stadium, we are also ensuring a lasting legacy for Al Rayyan, which will benefit from an integrated and sustainable sporting facility.”
Qatar Football Association (QFA) president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmad al-Thani said that the QFA, in co-operation with the management of Al Rayyan Sports Club, have taken all the necessary measures to ensure that this project does not affect Al Rayyan’s football club, one of the oldest and most widely supported teams in the county.
The SC has held meetings with club officials and fans at Al Rayyan Sports Club to discuss the benefits of the new stadium and precinct, and is working in close coordination with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) on the reuse of lighting fixtures, transformers and seats, amongst other stadium installations and equipment at other sporting venues across Qatar, including Al Ahli Stadium. Ninety percent of deconstruction waste will be recycled.
Having reviewed the plans, Al Rayyan Sports Club chairman Sheikh Saoud bin Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani is pleased with the project, which will provide the club with a new world-class base. He expressed the management’s and players’ support for the new stadium and precinct and their willingness to adapt during deconstruction. The club’s current staff will move to a temporary building near the existing stadium site until works have ended.
The SC has commenced its community engagement program in Al Rayyan through visits to majlises to establish close relationships with local councils and keep people informed about changes in their neighbourhoods, along with the benefits of playing host to a proposed venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Al Rayyan’s Municipal Council member Mohamed bin Hamoud al-Shafi called on the city’s residents to support this project: “We are delighted that our country is hosting the FIFA World Cup and we are ready to receive the world in 2022. Visitors will find Al Rayyan friendly and welcoming. We are proud that our city will play host to such a great event and we are confident that the stadium and precinct will become a landmark and a gathering place for our city and benefit Al Rayyan and its people over the long term.”
Along with the stadium and training sites, which will be cooled using environmentally-friendly technology, the 440,000 square metre precinct will contain a social club, a cricket ground, trails for running or walking, and an array of sporting and civic facilities.
The stadium will be complete in the first quarter of 2019 and have an approximate capacity of 43,000. Following the tournament, a modular upper tier will be disassembled and used to build football facilities in developing countries that lack sporting infrastructure, in co-ordination with FIFA, reducing the stadium’s capacity to 20,000.
Manco International General Contracting W.L.L., a joint venture between Manco W.L.L and Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd, was awarded the contract for early works and deconstruction works for Al Rayyan Stadium and was contracted to the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Standards.
In February, the SC appointed AECOM as the Project Manager and a consortium between Ramboll and Pattern Design as the Design Consultant for Al Rayyan Stadium. An event to unveil the design to the public is being scheduled in December around Qatar’s National Day celebrations at Darb Al Saai.
With deconstruction beginning on Al Rayyan, work is now underway in different stages on five proposed host venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
Construction or refurbishment works are already underway at a further four proposed host venues, including enabling works at Al Wakrah Stadium and Qatar Foundation Stadium, early works at Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City, and main contractor works at Khalifa International Stadium.
Construction on Al Wakrah and Al Bayt – Al Khor City Stadiums is set to be complete in 2018.
