Qatar's 2022 World Cup stadium ready by 2015

Qatar's first stadium with cooling technology for the 2022 World Cup will be ready by 2015, seven years ahead of the tournament, a senior official has said. "We are in the process of finalising development plans to host the World Cup in 2022 and we are looking to complete the first stadium with cooling system technology by 2015," Hassan Al Thawadi, Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee secretary general, told Qatar News Agency (QNA). Qatar hopes to assign programme management for the first stadium by the end of 2011 "to set the ball rolling for the major project in the first quarter of next year," he said. The official said that Qatar plans to host a major football tournament before 2022 in addition to the Confederations Cup in 2021. "Our intention is to host a major football tournament by 2020 as a first dress rehearsal. We can then host the Confederation's Cup in 2021, so by 2022 we will be ready for the big one," he said. Qatar in December won the right to host the 2022 tournament ahead of bids from the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia. Al Thawadi reiterated Qatar's commitment to stage a carbon neutral World Cup by using the latest environment friendly energy sources. "The World Cup 2022 will spur economic development under public-private partnership as well as offer opportunities to engage small and medium enterprises in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030," he said. "We see 2022 World Cup project as a great opportunity for development. A project of this magnitude will see the growth of hospitality, entertainment and media sectors as well as cultural initiatives." Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of Qatar's emir and head of the Qatari bid team, told Fifa delegates in December that he was looking forward to the first time a Middle Eastern nation hosts the event. "Thank you for believing in change, for expanding the game and for giving Qatar a chance. You will be proud of us, and you will be proud of the Middle East. I promise you this," he said. From / Gulf News