Qatar will need no bonds to finance the 2022 football World Cup, Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani was on Wednesday quoted as saying, DPA reported.
Local English-language daily The Peninsula quoted Hamad as saying that most infrastructure needed for the World Cup was already under construction as part of a development scheme until 2017, such as the airport, port as well as roads and railway lines.
"Most of the infrastructure required for the World Cup is within the country's plan to develop its infrastructure and therefore all that will be done is to complete the plan because Qatar needs it," Sheikh Hamad said.
"We don't need that (bonds), because most of our plan that we have now will finish within seven years and will cover 70 or 80 per cent of what the World Cup would require. These are all currently under construction.
"What we need actually are a few stadiums and a committee will be set up to deal with that. But this is not a big deal if you compare with all the infrastructure projects I am talking about. If you are talking about accommodation and other things, there is a process for this and also a plan and we will fulfill all our commitments."
Total investment for the country and the World Cup is estimated at 60 billion dollars.
Sheikh Hamad said that Qatari and regional companies from the private sector will be given priority for the upcoming projects, but that they should co-operate with specialised partners.
Qatar was elected on December 2 by the ruling body FIFA to host the 2022 tournament, the first country from the Arab world to be given the nod.
Some football officials such as German icon Franz Beckenbauer have suggested holding the tournament in January and February instead of June and July to avoid the intense heat.
But Qatar rather plans to make the conditions more bearable for players and fans with air-conditioned stadiums.
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