Dubai ruler approves award of contract for 12km highway at cost of $136 million

Two road projects worth a combined AED 990 million ($270m) are set to ease congestion on the busy Sharjah-Dubai route and improve access to the airport, according to officials.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the award of a contract for the improvement of Tripoli Road in a 12 km stretch to provide a link between the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and the Emirates Road at a cost of AED500 million ($136m), according to state news agency WAM.

The project provides a parallel and supporting corridor to the Airport Road Improvement Project, which the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is currently implementing at a cost of AED490 million.

Read the full story at ME Construction News.

Qatar’s World Cup organizers have awarded the main construction contract for one of their final tournament stadiums.

The Al Thumama stadium will be built by a joint venture between Qatar’s AlJaber Engineer (JEC) and Turkey’s Tekfen Construction.

The venue will be located between E-Ring and F-Ring Roads, or between the Medical Commission and the under-construction Kahramaa Awareness Park.

It is expected to host matches up the quarter-final stage, and will seat some 40,000 people.

Like several other Qatar stadiums, it will be dismantled to accommodate half that many people after 2022.

The selection of the Turkish firm comes as ties between Qatar and Turkey grow increasingly stronger.

Read the full article on Medium – Doha News.

The first modular seating elements are set to be installed at Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City as construction continues to advance, according to the organisers of the Qatar 2022 World Cup tournament.

The stands of Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City are now visible from afar reaching a height of 39 metres from ground level, a statement said.

It added that the modular construction of the proposed semi-final host venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup means that almost half of its seating can be removed and given to football development projects around the world.

Construction at the 60,000-seat stadium, which is designed like a traditional Arabian tent, is now in full swing with the installation of the first 2,500 seats at the north stand of the stadium.

Read the full story on Arabian Business.

Prime Minister says works expected be executed on schedule.

About 90% of FIFA World Cup 2022 projects, across all sectors, have been awarded and are expected to be executed on time, the Prime Minister and Interior Minister of Qatar has said.

According to a report in The Peninsula, a Qatari newspaper, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani said that all the infrastructure development works related to the event were being carried out at a “steady pace”, with 50% of the city’s railway project already completed.

The remarks came during the state cabinet’s weekly meeting, which was chaired by Sheikh Abdullah. The Prime Minister also called for the commitment of competent authorities to the implementation of the projects, as per their plans, deadlines and allocated budgets, the report added.

Read the full story on ME Construction News.

Qatar is spending almost $500m (£400m) a week on major infrastructure projects as it prepares for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, its finance minister has said.

Ali al-Emadi expected spending to continue at that level for three to four years as new stadiums, motorways, rail links and hospitals are built.

More than $200bn (£160bn) will be spent in total by the gas-rich emirate.

But Mr Emadi denied that the plans would make the 2022 tournament the most expensive World Cup yet.

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is reported to have cost $11bn (£8.8bn) to host, while Russia increased government spending on the 2018 World Cup by $321m to $10.7bn.

Read the full story at BBC News.