HBK Contracting Company has laid the first concrete above ground at Al Wakrah stadium, the first of five new venues being built to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar.
“We have started laying the foundation of 168 m3 of structural concrete in our east slab,” said Abdulla Al-Marri, senior project engineer at the Al Wakrah Precinct. “This is an important achievement, being the first above-ground casting of concrete at the site which will incorporate the structural elements to begin vertical construction,” he added.
To lay the concrete slab at double the usual speed, HBK is using two pumps that work simultaneously.
The foundations of the stadium will feature 84 concrete piles, measuring 19 m by 1.2 m. Enabling works contractor HBK has poured 55 of these so far, the first pile being cast in December 2014, a year after the designs and location of the first new venue for the 2022 World Cup™ were made public.
According to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the organisation responsible for hosting the World Cup™, a top priority now for the enabling works contractor is to cast the remaining foundations to allow the Main Work Contractor to start building the stadium on these foundations.
The Supreme Committee also identified completing drainage works and excavations around the stadium as a priority for HBK.