The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, organiser of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has successfully planted the first grass instalments from its new Turf Nursery, which is built to provide turf and trees for tournament venues.
The grass has been planted around Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. The Supreme Committee said the nursery is the first of its kind in the region and it forms part of the organisation’s commitment to sustainability. The grass seeds have been imported from the US and harvested in Qatar.
More than 350,000 square metres of grass is currently being transported and transplanted from the nursery to Al Bayt Stadium’s surrounding area, with the process set to conclude next year. The nursery itself is located in the Umm Slal Muhammad area, north of Doha, spanning an area of more than 880,000 square metres and containing more than 16,000 trees and 679,000 shrubs.
The SC’s landscape and sport turf management senior manager, Yasser Al Mulla, said: “This is a very exciting time for us as we prepare to plant the turf on the first pitch of one of the new stadiums for 2022. The grass surrounding Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan stadiums will follow closely next November.
“The grass is first planted on what we call a motherland, which is the term used to describe the land that was selected and tested to plant the turf and measure its suitability in the atmosphere and weather conditions in Qatar.
“First, we planted an area of 22,000 square metres and, upon the successful testing, this was increased to 423,000 square metres, cultivated with the same turf. It was harvested three times per year with the total amount being 1,200,000 square metres.”
The Turf Nursery will be transformed into a public park after the World Cup. Al Bayt Stadium will have a capacity of 60,000 and will host a semi-final during the tournament.
Image: Supreme Committee
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