The hotels have a unique design; 72-meter-long and 16-meter-wide (236-feet-long and 52-feet-wide), each consisting of 101 guest rooms, a restaurant, and a lounge bar. All of the 16 four-story hotels will be identical, offering a total of 1616 floating hotel rooms.

The agreement was signed by Qetaifan Projects, a Katara Hospitality owned company, and alternative real estate company ADMARES.

H.E Sheikh Nasser bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, managing director of Qetaifan Projects and vice chairman of Katara Hospitality, expressed his happiness in attracting investments to the country: “We are pleased that there are investors who share our vision and see the development of Qetaifan Island North as a promising project that has a future as the first touristic destination in Qatar.

“This indicates the aspiration of investors in the returns due to the safe and secure climate achieved by the state to encourage and attract foreign investment and create new opportunities, which will reflect positively on the local market, encourage competition, and stimulate the state sectors in all fields, especially with the recent developments witnessed within these sectors.”

To ensure the overall functionality and attractiveness of the hotels, the modern and urban buildings have been designed by Finnish architect firm Sigge Architects.

“This is the first time ever that pure floating real estate has been used as a temporary solution for accommodation needs at this scale. These hotels do not require major ports and deep water as their draft is significantly less than large cruise ships”, said Mikael Hedberg, CEO of ADMARES.

He added: “After the World Cup, the hotels can be placed at any coastal location where the water is at least 4 meters (13 feet) deep. We are excited to be part of the solution for the amount of accommodation needed for the FIFA World Cup 2022.”