Construction on different sectors of the Al Bayt Stadium-Al Khor City, one of the eight 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums, is in full swing, said Al Bayt Stadium Project Director – Aspire Zone Foundation, Dr Nasser Al Hajeri.
“We are now seeing the growth of the main stadium structure on site with the progress on the vertical construction,” said Al Hajeri.
“Other ongoing works in the stadium precinct include excavation, de-watering, installation of pipe connections and the recent setting up of the nearby tree nursery. Overall we can see that the stadium construction is advancing well and we will continue to see further progress over the coming weeks and months,” he added.
As the stadium structure continues to rise, main structural work on one of the two player tunnels has already been completed and work is under way on the other one. A number of the stadium building columns have been put in place with the highest point reached so far being 21 metres, along with a section of the buttress wall which, once completed, will carry the next two levels of the structure reaching a total of 37 metres. There are 21 cranes on site including one 280-tonne mega crane, and 95 percent of the foundation work has been completed. The next step in the construction is placing the top slab and installing the other precast elements which will shape up the venue. With the stadium expected to be finalised in 2018, samples of the seats that will fill the stadium have already arrived on site.
“A Qatari company has been appointed to design, manufacture, deliver and install the stadium seats, which will have patterns similar to those in a traditional tent which the design is based on,” said Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Project Manager for Khalifa International Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium, Engineer Mohemed Ahmed.
He added: “The design, manufacturing and installation of the seats is set to commence next year on all three tiers. Two of them are made of conventional and precast structure and one of them is made of structural steel, which will be modular seating that will be removed after the tournament.”
The stadium is inspired by the traditional Arabian tent which will reach up 37 metres in height. Three tiers of seating will provide ample space for 60,000 spectators and a retractable roof in place above to provide optimal cooling conditions which will allow football to be played year-round.
The retractable roof has mechanics similar to those used at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. It will be able to close completely in 20 minutes. The venue has a modular design, which includes an upper tier of removable seats which will be removed after the tournament and the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 32,000 seats.
The stadium will have cooling technology thanks to cooling devices distributed throughout the venue that will receive cold water from the chillers in the nearby energy centre.
