+ A
A -
AFP
Doha
The Qatar World Cup venue designed by celebrated Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid will be completed by the end of 2018, officials responsible for the project said on Tuesday.
The 40,000 capacity, $575 million Al Wakrah Stadium is expected to be one of the two 2022 venues completed this year.
Building work on the 60,000-seater Al Bayt stadium is also expected to be completed by December.
If so, it will mean Qatar will have built almost half of its proposed eight venues with four years still to go to the tournament.
The Khalifa International Stadium, also the venue for the 2019 World Athletics Championships, was completed last year.
"We will be finishing hopefully by the end of this year and then ready to use," Thani al Zarraa, Al Wakrah's project manager told AFP.
One of the major tasks ahead is to fit the stadium's distinctive retractable roof ” meant to resemble the sails of a traditional dhow fishing boat ” comprising some 1,400 pieces, which will be shipped to Qatar from Italy.
Once completed, World Cup officials will trial the stadium with"test matches", including potential international friendlies, said Zarraa.
He said the design would also make it"one of the loudest stadiums" in 2022.
"All the ambience and cheering will hit the roof and come back into the stadium," he said.
Al Wakrah, some 15 kilometres south of Doha, will be used during the World Cup for games up to the quarter-finals.
After the World Cup, the capacity will be reduced to 20,000.
It was one of Hadid's last major designs before her death in March 2016. Major works by Hadid include the Guangzhou Opera House in China, the Bergisel ski jump and the aquatics centre at the 2012 London Olympics.
