BOUYGUES Construction, part of French conglomerate Bouygues, is to set up a joint venture in Qatar, which is to host the 2022 Fifa (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup.

“We confirm the creation of a co-enterprise with a Qatari company,” a spokesman said adding the new company was in the process of being registered and that the Qatari company would take 51 per cent in the co-enterprise.

Qatar is committed to investing $20 to $25 billion in tourism infrastructure development ahead of the soccer tournament, the head of its state-run tourism authority earlier said. Bouygues Batiment International (BBI), the international arm of Bouygues Construction, needs to tie up with a Qatari group to be able to participate in any tender offers, a report in French newspaper Les Echos said.

In Qatar, BBI is building the Barwa Financial District in Doha, a 700,000-sq-m real estate complex.