DOHA - A new athletes village, an unparalleled media city and a state-of-the-art sports stadium for the physically challenged highlight Doha's bid to bring the Olympic flame to the Arab world for the first time.
Detailing the finer aspects of the bid, Hassan Ali bin Ali, Chairman of the Doha 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee, yesterday underlined Doha's seriousness in winning the rights to host the largest sporting spectacle in the world.
Doha is one of seven cities bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games. The others are Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, Baku, Rio de Janeiro and Prague.
Doha, currently a candidate city, submitted its bid file on January 14 at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The final decision on the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games will be made in October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during an Executive Committee meeting of the IOC.
"We have pledged to build a state-of-the-art athletes village for the players and the officials. We built a brand new athletes village for the Asian Games in 2006 and we will do it again, if we win the bid," Ali said yesterday.
"Besides this, Doha will construct a new media city to host around 25,000 people from around the world. No other bidding city can match this pledge," Ali added.
"The media city will be an exclusive area of use for the world's news people. The media people will have easy access to all of our playing facilities through a (to-be-built) metro network linking the city and the venues for those attending the Games," he added.
Ali said Qatar has outlined a budget of QR300m to build the world's most modern playing facility for the physically challenged.
He said: "We already have a great institute -- the Shaffalah Centre -- a unique place for the physically handicapped. We have pledged to build a new stadium that could be used for the Paralympic Games. The new facility will be built irrespective of what happens to our Olympic Games bid. We are looking at a sum of about $90m in construction costs, which will be fully supplied by the government."
To another question, Ali said Doha has outlined a budget of about $3bn to host the Olympic Games in 2016.
He categorically denied Doha's intention to make profits, if the Games come to the Middle East.
"No, we are not thinking about making money. What we want to do is bring the Olympic flame to millions of new hearts and minds in the Arab world. We are keen to build a new athletes village and then make proper use of it after the Games," Ali explained.
"You see, 70 percent of our facilities are ready. That will tell you that we are more than ready to host the Games. Basically we are looking at expansions in various ways. For example, the new stadium for the physically challenged will be become part of the Shaffalah Centre. Doing such things add value to our bid. We have no intention of making money, no," Ali said.
The proposed date for the Olympic Games is from October 14 to 30 while the Paralympic Games will be scheduled from November 12 to 23, Ali said. The Doha official said the Qatari capital will have more than 80,000 hotel rooms by 2016. Other bid highlights include a new airport, to be completed in 2009, a metro network, and further expansion of the port facilities.
By Rizwan Rehmat
© The Peninsula 2008
