Qatar 2022Local Organising Committee gives thumbs-up to "Built by China"

DOHA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- "Chinese enterprises' help will add luster to the 2022 Football World Cup hosted by Qatar," Fatma Al Nuaimi, the spokesperson for the Qatar 2022 Local Organising Committee (LOC), said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

In November 2016, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) won a bid to build the Lusail Stadium for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The contract was worth 2.8 billion Qatari riyals, equivalent to about 5.17 billion yuan at that time.

Nuaimi said that the Lusail Stadium, featuring a magnificent scale and a unique design, will host the World Cup Qatar 2022's important events and activities such as the semi-finals, the final, and the closing ceremony. "The stadium was built by one of the best companies in China. That’s a guarantee for the project's quality."

According to Liu Dawei, project manager of the Lusail Stadium, the project is the first World Cup main stadium built by a Chinese company as the main contractor, and it is also one of the largest and most technologically advanced stadiums under construction in the world. After the completion of the stadium, it can accommodate 92,000 spectators. The total amount of steel used in its steel structure is equivalent to three Eiffel Towers. The design and construction meet the latest and highest international standards. Up to now, the main construction work has been completed and the project is being gradually delivered.

Huang Taorui, the project's deputy project manager in charge of technology, said the Lusail Stadium is the largest and most complex membrane-structure building of its kind in the world. The stadium is installed with an air-conditioning and ventilation system using digital simulation technology to ensure the comfort of spectators and players even in the hot summer in Qatar.

The implementation of the Lusail Stadium project has also brought substantial economic benefits to Qatar. Liu said that during the construction period, the project has provided more than 3,000 jobs for the local area, and during the World Cup, it is expected to provide more than 4,000 job opportunities related to maintenance and operation for local people.

Today, the Qatari people are proud of the unique and magnificent Lusail Stadium, which has become a landmark of Qatar. Last December, the stadium was featured on the banknotes issued by Qatar's central bank, marking the first time "Built by China" appeared on a foreign currency. When inspecting the project in March this year, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani said that the Lusail Stadium is not only a key facility for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but also a landmark project of pragmatic cooperation between Qatar and China.

Hosting a low-carbon and green World Cup is Qatar's commitment, and Chinese enterprises are contributing to it. Huang said that the entire design and construction process is in line with the philosophy of "green and environment-friendly". The project applies a number of environment-friendly and energy-saving technologies and uses a lot of recyclable materials, making the Lusail Stadium one of the most energy-saving and environment-friendly stadiums in the world.

In addition to the Lusail Stadium, new-energy buses provided by a Chinese company also help Qatar act on the World Cup philosophy of "low-carbon and green". In November last year, China's Yutong Bus and Qatar's major transportation service provider Mowasalat signed a contract for Yutong to provide Qatar with 1,002 World Cup special vehicles, including 741 electric buses. It is understood that these electric buses will be put into operation as ordinary buses after the World Cup. The two sides also signed a framework agreement on setting up an electric bus assembly plant in the Qatar Free Zones.

Nuaimi said that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be innovative, sustainable and low-carbon. The electric buses provided by the Chinese company have helped Qatar pick up the pace of emission reduction, not only becoming a bright spot of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but also contributing to Qatar's environmental protection and economic development.