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Article

30 Jul 2017

Author:
Zainab Fattah, Bloomberg (USA)

Qatar Says Boycott Won’t Affect 2022 World Cup Preparation

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...A four-nation embargo led by Saudi Arabia has cut off Qatar construction materials it was counting on to build at least eight stadiums, lay dozens of miles of rail work and erect a brand new city before the world’s most-watched sporting event. But...the gas-rich nation says it is casting further abroad and laying out more cash than planned to replace suppliers that live next door. Malaysian steel is replacing Saudi. Oman will provide materials originally ordered from the U.A.E....China is stepping into the breach with dozens of products...Some suppliers from boycotting nations are rerouting shipments through Omani ports....Secretary General of the Qatar World Cup Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy Hassan Al-Thawadi said...“We are working with our contractors to make sure we actually deliver long-term supply chain solutions and alternatives.”

...Initial shortages of specific construction materials have mostly subsided but contractors’ worries about non-payment and delayed payment, which predated the boycott, “will now likely be exacerbated by it,” said Allison Wood, a Middle East and North Africa analyst with the Control Risks strategy firm in Dubai. “The goods from new supply chains are often more expensive and a lot of contractors are already operating on quite low margins, so higher costs of materials can really cut into their bottom line,” she added. “There’s no doubt that the boycott will put an additional premium on what was already going to be a very expensive World Cup.”...Contractors say they’ve had to move fast to find new markets for comparable materials, and that’s delayed things. Al-Thawadi said that won’t affect the overall schedule and that cost overruns as a result of having to create last-minute supply chains have been minimal...

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