Qatar’s government has signed up three private companies – Shaqab Abela Catering Services, Gulf Systems for Contracting and Services and Redco International Trading and Contracting – for the construction of Phase One of a massive labour accommodation project that will eventually house 179,000 workers, said a report.

Under this project, seven housing complexes will be built on an area of over 6.6 million sq m across the country in three phases at an investment of QR1.6 billion ($439 million).

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, reported The Peninsula.

The move come as part of the country’s efforts to provide permanent accommodation for workers in a proper environment with all services and health, social, religious and entertainment facilities, said the report citing the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani.

The projects will be built in the Umm Salal Mohammed, Birkat Al Awamer, Umm Ghuwailina, Al Wakrah and Al Shamal areas.

The Umm Salal project will be executed by these private companies on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Under this system, they will get to finance, construct and operate the facility for 15 years.

The first housing complex will be built in Umm Salal Mohammed as the first phase of the project with the capacity of 24,000 workers, followed by more complexes at Barkat Al Awamer in the second phase and then at Umm Ghuwailina, Al Wakrah and Al Shamal.