Qatar spending £400M weekly on World Cup preparations

Qatar is spending at an unprecedented rate in preparation for the 2022 World Cup, with the Middle Eastern state's finance minister admitting weekly expenditures of £400 million ($500 million).

According to Qatar's finance minister, Ali Shareef Al-Emadi, it doesn't look like that extravagant spending will stop anytime soon.

"We are spending close to $500 million per week on capital projects," Al-Emadi told reporters, courtesy of Agence France-Presse.

"And this will carry on for the next three to four years to achieve our goal and objective of really getting the country ready for 2022."

Estimates peg Qatar's total spending for the quadrennial games will hit £160 billion ($200 billion), with the construction of venues just the tip of the iceberg. The oil-rich Emirate has also constructed roads, hospitals, and a new airport to handle the burden of a rapidly grown infrastructure.

"That doesn’t mean the stadiums only, we are talking about highways, rail, ports, airports, those are really underway, even hospitals and everything," Al-Emadi added. "Ninety percent of the 2022 contracts have already been awarded.

"We are really giving ourselves a good chance of delivering things on time and we don’t want to get in a place that we start painting while people are coming to the country."

Asked if the 2022 World Cup will be the most costly in history, Al-Emadi said "no," adding Qatar's hosting amounts to much more than football stadiums.

"We are putting $200 billion in terms of infrastructure ... If you look at stand alone, the World Cup, no it is not."

With fossil fuels dominating the Qatari economy, recent market fluctuations have seen the country of 2.2 million people incur a budget deficit of more than £9.6 billion ($12 billion), it's first in 15 years. This year's state-approved budget of £6.16 billion ($7.7 billion) raises questions about the amount being spent on the Middle East's first World Cup.

Part of that fluctuation stems from the collapse of crude prices in 2014, with Qatar producing up to 800,000 barrels of oil a day. Qatar holds the world's third-largest gas reserves, and with the market showing improvement, Al-Emadi said matters are again "very comfortable."

The deficit could see Qatar attempt to sell its debt on international bond markets, though Al-Emadi conceded the decision rests with the government. With Qatar planning to introduce a Value Added Tax in collaboration with other Gulf states, there's a fear this could lead to the creation of a federal income tax in the tiny nation. Al-Emadi denied said plans.