Gulf Construction Online - That sporting life

Qatar Review

The Wakra Centre ... one of the venues for the games.

That sporting life

01 March 2004

A NUMBER of contracts are due to be awarded shortly to push work forward on the estimated $450 million Athletes Village (Olympic Village) which will house more 10,000 athletes, for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

The project is part of including Qatar’s ambitious plan – estimated to cost $1 billion – to enhance its sports infrastructure in preparation for the upcoming games in December 2006. Already site clearance and demolition works have been completed.
Contracts worth an estimated QR90 million ($24 million) were signed last December for the first two of the 12 housing housing complexes planned for the Asian Games.
The two contracts, involving the construction of a total of 871 total housing units, went to El Seif Engineering and Contracting Company of Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s National Industrial Contracting Company. The complexes are expected to be complete by December this year with the entire village due to be finished by December 2005.
According to the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (DAGOC), the following contracts are due to be announced shortly:
• Package CP-200 underpass and roadworks. The bid closing date was February 19 and a contract award is expected around mid-March;
• Package CP-201(a) central energy plan, which is under design. The deal, which will involve power distribution and air cooling works, are expected to be awarded by early April;
• Package CP-300 (a) parts of public and international zones are under design. Construction works are expected to be awarded in late April;
• Packages CP-301 (a) and CP-302 (a) parts of the residential zone are under construction.
• Package CP-303 (a) parts of the residential zone are under design. Construction works are scheduled to be awarded in early May; and
• Package CP-306 (a) dining hall and athlete leisure centre are under design. A construction contract is expected to be announced in mid-April.
A consultant has been hired and is expected to complete a venue model this month, which will provide the basis for venue planning and design.
The 36.5-hectare plot sits beside Hamad Medical City. After the games, the entire village will be converted into the Hamad Medical Centre, with a pediatrics hospital, an orthopaedic hospital, physical therapy unit, rehabilitation centre, renal dialysis centre an elderly welfare centre and educational centre.
A number of other projects are also being developed to host the Asian Games. They include the Khalifa Sports City which involves a significant refurbishment of Khalifa Stadium and the construction of nine large sports halls at the same site, at an estimated cost of $329.6 million. The concept design has been completed by Cico Consulting, a local firm of architects.
The refurbishment and upgrading of the existing sports clubs and delivery of remaining sports facilities outside the Khalifa Sports City has been delegated to the Sports Facilities and Installations Department (SFID) within the Qatar National Olympic Committee (QNOC). A number of facilities are currently being upgraded and new ones built, notably the Rayyan, Al Ittihad and Al Saad sports complexes.
A new Qatar Sport Complex, estimated to be worth ($219.78 million) is to be built. It will include a multi-purpose hall, sport hotel, medical centre, cycling and mountain bike centre, federation offices, artificial ponds/lakes, aqua park, shooting centre and associated car parks.
Meanwhile, the second in the series of Qatar Sports International (QSi) exhibitions will be held next month (April 4 to 8).
Established in 2002, the event aims to assist international sports industry suppliers to meet and do business with Asian sports event and venue managers, in the host city of the next Asian Games. Contracts worth $50 million were awarded at the first QSi event, held in December 2002, which attracted 15,000 visitors and 250 exhibiting companies from 32 countries.