The "diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar" threatens to derail the £160B ($202.4M) building program the country needs to finish "to be ready to host the 2022 World Cup," according to Iain Withers of the London TELEGRAPH. Qatar had "planned to reach peak construction on eight state-of-the-art World Cup stadiums and major supporting infrastructure including a new Doha metro system this year and next." The country "also needs to provide 60,000 hotel rooms" to satisfy FIFA conditions for hosting the tournament. Travel restrictions and "harder border controls slapped on Qatar" by its regional neighbors in recent days have "further thrown its plans into doubt," as the country needs tens of thousands of migrant laborers and an "abundance of imported construction materials to make good on its promises." British construction firms are "at the heart" of the building program, with architecture firms Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects and engineer Arup among the firms designing World Cup stadiums, while contractors Interserve and Carillion are "working on related projects." Economic forecasting firm Global Construction Perspectives Dir Graham Robinson said, "The crisis is expected to most acutely affect labor supply and on top of the controversy around workers' rights, this will be a major blow for the Qatari government." A Dubai-based director for a British construction consultant working on Qatar projects said that he was "concerned the diplomatic crisis would impact on his company." He "expected to have to begin contingency planning next week if restrictions are not lifted" (TELEGRAPH, 6/12).
