A project to build “humane” accommodation for 50,000 migrant workers in Qatar as a result of the Gulf state’s slow bureaucracy, it was reported.
According to the UK’s The Guardian newspaper, a British consultant had been working with a US developer to construct homes that included health centres, shops, recreational areas and psychologists’ consulting rooms, with the accommodation set to open in April.
However, the project has now been delayed until at least July as Qatar authorities have been unable to agree to a streamlined planning process, the newspaper said.
Many foreign workers, primarily from South and South-East Asia, who come to work in the country are housed in squalid and overcrowded conditions.
A total of at least 185 Nepalese workers died in the Qatar construction industry in 2013, official documents revealed last week.
That death toll is likely to raise new concerns over the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar as the Gulf state steps up its infrastructure building programme ahead of hosting the 2022 World Cup tournament.
According to the documents cited by The Guardian, the total number of verified deaths among workers from Nepal is now at least 382 in two years alone.
It said at least 36 of those deaths were registered in the weeks following the global outcry that followed the its original investigation into the issue last September.
Nepalese workers make up around one sixth of Qatar’s 2m population of migrant workers.
The initial revelations last year forced FIFA president Sepp Blatter to urge authorities in Qatar to ensure fair treatment of workers.
In November, a UN official called on Qatar to abolish a sponsorship system for migrant workers he said was a source of labour abuse, raising pressure on the 2022 World Cup host for reforms of its workplace practices.
Qatar’s Ministry of Labour hired law firm DLA Piper to conduct an urgent review and a report is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
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