Doha: Qatar, the host the 2022 World Cup, plans to complete the passenger line of a $25 billion nationwide rail and metro network in time for the tournament, the project's manager said.
Only a 70km freight line linking Doha to the oil fields in the west of the country won't be completed until after the sporting event is over, Sultan Bakhit Al Enazi, railway project manager for Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, said.
"We have a plan that by 2021, the connection to the stadiums, they are going to be ready," Al Enazi said.
The network, included in the presentation to FIFA inspectors in September, would be used to transport soccer fans between 13 stadiums in and around the capital Doha as well as to northern and southern parts of the country. A rail line would also extend to Bahrain over a yet-to-be-constructed causeway.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates that $65 billion (Dh238 billion) will be spent getting Qatar ready for the world's most-watched sporting event.
The country has pledged to build nine new stadiums and refurbish three more as well as double the number of rooms in hotels.
