Dubai: Qatar has banned contractors from leaving the country as it carries out a probe into how heavy rains damaged buildings and roadways.
An article late Friday on the state-run Qatar News Agency announced the travel ban. It said “owners of companies, contractors and consulting engineers” would be banned from traveling abroad until the end of the probe.
A year’s worth of rain on Wednesday deluged Doha’s Hamad International Airport, the home of Qatar Airways, pouring through at least one part of the roof. The airport cost at least $15 billion to build.
Rainwater also flooded streets and shut down some stores in Doha.
Qatar has seen a boom in construction, some derided as shoddy, ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The investigation already is examining the work of five unnamed companies and others could be targeted as well in the probe launched by Prime Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, who also serves as interior minister, the country’s state-run Qatar News Agency said.
“Parties responsible for dereliction or negligence, whether governmental or private, will be held accountable,” the agency said, citing a statement late Wednesday from Qatar’s Government Communication Office.
The day before, at least 79.5 millimetres of rain fell at the airport, according to the Qatar Meteorology Department. Typically, the hot, desert country sees around 50 millimetres of rain in a year.
