Qatar have thrown open the fourth venue for the 2022 World Cup on Friday with the inauguration of the beautiful Ahmad Bin Ali stadium at Al Rayyan city.
Incidentally, Friday is Qatar's National Day and it is only fitting that the stadium that symbolises various aspects of the Middle-East nation's culture was unveiled on this day.
The stadium’s façade is glowing and is comprised of patterns that symbolise different aspects of Qatar - the importance of family, the beauty of the desert, native flora and fauna, and local and international trade. A fifth shape – a shield – brings together all the others, representing the strength and unity that is relevant to the city of Al Rayyan.
To put it simply, Ahmad Bin Ali stadium is a venue that tells the story of Qatar in a spectacular way.
However, what is interesting is that there are Indian 'touches' all over the construction of the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for the delivery of the World Cup, had entrusted the task of building the 40000-seater stadium to a Qatari-Indian Joint Venture between Qatar's Al Balagh Trading & Contracting, and India's biggest construction firm - Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).
Importantly, the fact is that this was the first time ever that an Indian firm has been involved in any capacity whatsoever when it comes to building infrastructure for a World Cup tournament.
And the work carried out by L&T had come in for praise for much earlier when the venue achieved a significant health and safety milestone after becoming the first project site to complete 20 million working hours on two occasions without a Lost Time Injury (LTI). An LTI is an injury sustained by an employee that leads to loss of productive work in the form of absenteeism or delays.
The stadium has been awarded several glowing Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) ratings, thanks to the considerable sustainability and efficiency measures that have been embedded in the design to reduce the stadium's carbon footprint.
"L&T is extremely proud to have been chosen by the SC along with our partner Al Balagh to deliver their World Cup vision for 2022. This is a big achievement in the company's history," L&T Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Buildings, Minerals & Metals) MV Satish was quoted saying after the firm was announced as the main contractor.
Satish also had revealed back then that his organisation's Indian engineering procurement construction (EPC) project delivery expertise will be the DNA of the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium project.
"We were up against a tight deadline for the project and are proud that we completed it on time," said Satish later.
They've definitely completed the project right on time, despite the challenges thrown up by the Coronavirus pandemic which brought the entire world to a standstill for most of 2020. And now, Qatar's latest jewel in their crown is shining bright, thanks to an Indian firm in no small part.
The Ahmad Bin Ali stadium is set to host matches up to the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, following which it will function as the home ground of Qatar Stars League (QSL) outfit Al Rayyan SC.