As the build-up towards hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022™ continues, we take a closer look at Coastal Qatar – a local engineering company that is supporting the efforts of Qatar and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation tasked with delivering the infrastructure and legacy of the tournament.
Background
Coastal has been a leading engineering firm in Qatar since 1979. Its main operations include construction, trading, steel fabrication, project support and logistics. Coastal’s work can be seen throughout the country, including at Hamad International Airport, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior headquarters, Qatar National Museum, Qatar National Library and six Qatar 2022 stadiums.
The company also produces a wide range of infrastructure products. This includes the design, supply and installation of various aspects of flooring for a wide range of commercial and public spaces. They also supply products for industrial, architectural, interior and landscaping projects. With Qatar rapidly developing into a major hub for sporting events in the region, Coastal has also become a reliable source of sporting infrastructure products.
Qatar 2022
Coastal played an important role in the redevelopment of the first tournament-ready venue, Khalifa International Stadium. Their efforts included the fabrication, supply and delivery of secondary structural steel work and cladding. They were also responsible for installing premium hospitality seats, as well as providing the seats for the redeveloped accessibility areas in the stadium.
“We do the whole package, right from the design layout to the 3D models. We have a team in-house which does the whole layout,” said Coastal’s CEO, Nishad Azeem.
On 5 April 2017, the SC awarded Coastal the contract to manufacture and install the spectator seating for six World Cup venues: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Education City Stadium, Lusail Stadium and Ras Abu Aboud Stadium. A total of 250,000 seats have been produced by Coastal, with the company overseeing all aspects of the production, from design to venue installation.
“For Al Janoub, you see the sea waves, or at Ahmad Bin Ali, you have the lion’s head. All these colour patterns were developed by Coastal at a very early stage,” said Coastal’s Project Manager, Emad Izmegna. “We provided a few options to SC management and officials, and they selected the colour patterns you see now in the stadiums. We then manufactured the seats accordingly.”
Like the SC, Coastal take particular care in implementing sustainable practices with their seat manufacturing. “We don’t waste anything from the plastic,” said Azeem. “Sometimes, we have rejections, or when we are changing colours, we have some seats that end up being mixed colours. All that is recycled and we have a team that does all that.”
Statistics
Coastal’s contribution to the redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium involved a workforce of 100 on the steel works and a further 40 employees installing the new premium hospitality and accessibility area seats. An additional staff of 20 provided support on those projects.
In the production of the spectator seats for Qatar 2022, Coastal has been producing 600 seats per day, with 12 employees overseeing the work in the company’s highly-sophisticated manufacturing plant. A workforce of between 100 and 120 have been responsible for the installation of the manufactured seats in the stadiums.
Homegrown production
In line with Qatar National Vision 2030, Coastal’s efforts towards Qatar 2022 are seen as a success story in local manufacturing and production. Their endeavours were supported financially by Qatar Development Bank (QDB), whose vision is to develop and empower Qatari projects and entrepreneurs by providing local opportunities to successful small and medium enterprises to compete in global markets, further contributing to the local economy.
“We are pleased with the efforts and achievements of Coastal and other Qatari companies in planning and preparing for this huge global sporting event. Coastal is just one of the many local companies that we are proud to represent and it serves as an inspiring success story for all Qatari industrial companies,” said Jassem Ibrahim Al Mohammadi, QDB Senior Relationship Manager.
Al Mohammadi highlighted other programmes and services provided by QDB to companies in the manufacturing sector.
He added: “We offer financing and advisory programmes and services for industrial companies, including loans, financing facilities or incubation through our initiatives Jahiz 1 and Jahiz 2. We also offer training, guidance and follow-up services through our model factory programme and others to further develop companies’ industrial skills. We are also keen on making regional and global markets available to them through Qatar’s export development agency, which is the bank’s export arm, and its various initiatives.”
Strong experience
Both Azeem and Izmegna spoke highly of the collaboration and co-operation that Coastal have experienced with the SC. As a company, they are particularly proud to have been given such levels of responsibility with preparations for the next World Cup.
“Initially, I think it was a big decision by the SC to give a local company the six stadiums for seat production,” said Izmegna. “When it comes to quality and other logistical and technical aspects, it was really challenging at the beginning, as they were checking our capabilities, while from our side, we were trying to understand the requirements that were very, very high.
“After we started delivering the material, they saw our performance and the quality of our product that was locally made with regional materials, but made to the highest of standards. When they saw the first batch of deliveries, they were confident in our performance and in the products we were delivering.”
