Qatar plans to build seven cities to house more than 258,000 migrant workers who are building the stadiums and associated infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, officials have said.
Qatari ministers said that all seven cities will be built by the end of 2016, according to The Guardian.
They revealed that the largest development – Labour City – would be ready to start housing workers within a few weeks.
The development – which will be able to house 70,000 people and will also have a 24,000-seat cricket stadium – will reportedly cost $825 million to build.
The seven cities will house about 25% of Qatar’s migrant labour population, it was reported.
The decision to build the facilities comes in the wake of sustained criticism from human-rights organisations and international media over working conditions in Qatar.