Qatar will more than double the number of migrant labourers in the country to 2.5mn by 2020 ahead of hosting the World Cup, a leading businessman said yesterday. 

Sheikh Nasser bin Abdulrahman bin Nasser al-Thani told a business conference in Doha that the number of workers would reach "2.5mn within three to five years".

Sheikh Nasser is the chairman of Daruna, a company that specialises in building migrant labour housing. 

He was speaking at the Meed "Qatar Projects" conference, a two-day event that brings together business leaders, consultants and government figures from the infrastructure, transport and energy sectors. 

Sheikh Nasser also yesterday unveiled proposals for a new accommodation centre for migrant labourers in Qatar, which he said would greatly improve housing standards. 

"We are offering our guest workers a living standard of the highest Qatar has ever seen," he said. 

Qatar is spending over $200bn over the next decade on a number of huge infrastructure projects, including a metro system for Doha, developing the country’s roads, and building a new port. 

Daruna Development, a provider of "advanced" workers' accommodations in Qatar, has signed a QR800mn management contract with Wasita Qatar (Isnad), a subsidiary of the Wasita Group of Companies.

The agreement covers the development of 12,000 workers’ accommodations over the next 36 months.

The Daruna designs are the first in Qatar to be certified as compliant by Qatar Foundation according to their Standards for Workers’ Welfare guide published in 2013.

Wasita Group operates in the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Turkey. 

AFP