Fire breaks out at Qatar 'mega mall' construction site

A shopping centre in Qatar being constructed as part of the government's multi-billion dollar projects to prepare the state for the World Cup was struck by fire.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

03 April, 2016

The Mall of Qatar is expected to finish later this year [Twitter]

A fire broke out at the construction site of what is expected to be the Gulf's largest shopping centre situated in the Qatari capital on Saturday.

The Mall of Qatar, located near one of several 2022 World Cup stadiums being built to host the matches, raged with fire for hours before the ministry tweeted that civil defence authorities had "completely" contained the blaze and confirmed there were no injuries.

Images showing plumes of black smoke from the Doha shopping complex in the western suburb of the capital circulated around social media.

Twitter Post

"No casualties have been reported, and over 14,000 labourers and staff were safely evacuated from the premises," said Mowafaq Kharbat, project director of Urbacon Trading and Contracting.

"An investigation is being conducted and details will be provided once the investigation is complete," he added.

Multi-billion dollar projects have been launched in Qatar as the Gulf state prepares to host millions attending the 2022 World Cup.

The Mall of Qatar, expected to open later this year, is a 500,000-square-metre retail and entertainment complex near the 40,000-seat Al-Rayyan stadium, which is undergoing renovation for the World Cup.