Hyder To Hire 500 In Run-up To Qatar World Cup

Qatar has allocated 40 percent of its budget between now and 2016 to infrastructure projects.

Hyder Consulting is to hire up to 500 engineers in the Middle East as it gears up for new work in the region ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it has been reported.

The design consultancy, which built the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, said it will employ engineering talent off the UK, Germany and Ireland, Graham Reid, UK regional managing director told theFinancial Times.

The firm, one of several Western engineering firms shifting its focus to the Middle East amid a slowdown in Europe, has won several contracts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. New projects include an GBP£80m contract to design roads and drainage in Doha and a three year advisory commission from Jeddah Municipality.

Qatar has allocated 40 percent of its budget between now and 2016 to infrastructure projects as it prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The Gulf state, which plans to spend US$20bn on roads and US$11bn on a new international airport, is due to announce many of the contracts this autumn.