A cool wind woke Doha on Monday, December 19, the day after the World Cup final and Qatar’s national holiday, which had put tens of thousands of people on the streets. The metros and business districts have been returned to white-collar workers, invited to remain in telework for the entire month of the competition, for fear of clogging the metro and the main traffic axes. The souk Waqif, the usual meeting place for supporters and onlookers, has already been cleaned of the excesses of the day before, under the watchful eye of the mounted police. At the other end of the city, a noria of planes is already carrying thousands of visitors, but also workers at the end of their contract, or wealthy people from Doha, who, when the party is over, resume their winter habits and leave the country.
It’s back to “December normalcy”says Shaïma, a Yemeni journalist, resident of the emirate. “We haven’t had a break for four months, everyone needs a break”, she adds. In town, traders are preparing to return to their pre-World Cup rhythm and schedules: closing at 10 p.m. and no longer at 2 a.m.
After a month in overdrive and a breathtaking final match, the whole of Qatar will slow down. A page is turning for the emirate, of which a large part of the living forces have been monopolized, for twelve years – since Doha won the vote of the International Football Federation (FIFA) in 2010 – by the preparation of this great- planetary mass. A phase of transition and reflection opens for the leaders of the monarchy, who to continue to develop the Qatar brand will have to negotiate a form of “change in continuity”.
The export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will of course remain the backbone of the country. The income it derives from this already immensely lucrative activity promises to soar since Doha has planned to build six new liquefaction trains by 2027. Enough to increase its LNG production to 126 million tonnes per year. year, against 77 million currently: a jump of 60% in five years.
Bid for the 2036 Olympics?
“How are Qatari officials going to spend this money to keep the economy running: that is the question now, underlines a foreign expert who has his entrances to the palace of the emir Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani. For ten years, the World Cup has driven growth. They will have to find a new engine. »
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