Major firms delivering stadiums for the Qatar 2022 World Cup are drawing up contingency plans to leave the country if the diplomatic standoff with its neighbors is not resolved, according to the British Telegraph newspaper. Senior industry sources said several multinational building firms are working on leaving or downsizing their plans in Qatar, as ongoing trade sanctions threaten to derail the country's £160 billion World Cup-related building program. These include eight stadiums, a new metro system for Doha and 60,000 hotel rooms. British and American firms are playing leading roles on World Cup stadium projects. A source at a World Cup supplier warned fresh sanctions could shift the dial in favor of the companies leaving. "We have a team working on contingency planning," the source said. "Should further sanctions come in, companies will have to reassess their investment and their presence in Qatar. If the risk profile changes we would take evasive action to protect our investments and our people." Another World Cup supplier said it viewed the row as a "difference of principles that is unlikely to go away for months, maybe a year." The current trade and travel blockades have already paused or stopped smaller building projects in Qatar, as contractors struggle to source the materials and labor they need. Around 40 percent of Qatar's building materials previously came in over its land border with Saudi Arabia. It is estimated Qatar needs 36,000 migrant laborers working on stadium projects alone this year and the next.
