By Mark Baber
May 28 – Qatar’s Barwa Real Estate Group has denied its proposed Oryx Island & Gulf Resort projects, widely reported as planned to house World Cup fans, are in any way related to projects for the 2022 World Cup.
It was reported yesterday Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate, partly owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fun, was planning to build a $5,5 billion island off the coast of Doha, with villas, an aqua park and five floating hotels using cruise ships “to house soccer fans expected to flock to the country for the World Cup in 2022”.
The report quoted Barwa’s chief executive Abdulla al-Subaie at the Cityscape Qatar 2013 exhibition, saying “Oryx Island can accommodate 20,000 to 25,000 people. Cruise ships can be docked for one week, two weeks. It can be mobilised and demobilised for a short time.”
Some of the projects on display at the exhibition certainly do have a world cup connection, such as Barwa’s Dara residential project which is to be built within walking distance of the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies in 2022 – and Barwa has also confirmed selling 1 million square meters of land in its Lusail development for the building of the Lusail City stadium.
However, a spokesman for the Group said: “The Oryx Island & Gulf Resort are projects proposed by Barwa Real Estate in the waters of the Arabian Gulf to support the economy diversification plans in Qatar and not in any way related to the projects of the World Cup 2022.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734858453labto1734858453ofdlr1734858453owedi1734858453sni@r1734858453ebab.1734858453kram1734858453
