desert-rat

Anyone know if it is open now? I drove past the other day and they had covered up the large yellow IKEA signs.
Another member said it was due to open 30/1/13 I hope I havent missed the grand event.

dohadesertdog

opening delayed due to issues obtaining civil defence certification, hence the requirement to cover the logo (not that i see the logic to that?!)

i believe otherwise its good to go, Doha News website gave a date for the revsied opening i believe

Miss Anne Thrope

Pretty short of excitement there I guess? A trip to IKEA fills me with horror - requires careful preparation and planning...

britexpat76

You will be amazed how many people here have bare walls and sofa's just waiting for Ikea to open. I expect scenes like this

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...on/4252421.stm

Miss Anne Thrope

Yeah, I thought of that too - spent many hours in IKEA-related traffic jams on the bloody North Circular...

DOHDUBMAN

Haha yeah im one of them James

britexpat76

Who?

gottheTshirt

Yep. It is the Ikea standard building that has been constructed everywhere in the world, but it has failed to obtain civil defence certification in Qatar.

co durham boy

From certifying buildings that are death traps to not certifying buildings that are of good quality construction , you couldn't make it up .

The Expatflange brigade were blowing the froth off their skinny latte's when the delay was announced as well .

The amazing thing is that the opening of Ikea is indeed a major event here in Qatar and that just reinforces what a fu**ing dull country this place is

OleJanx

Yes, that contradiction crossed my mind. Presumably IKEA were a bit stingy with the old payola...

co durham boy

Al Fuittaim only build one way , it's standard throughout the region . The Festival City brand is like for like build wise .

I know some guys who work on the commercial side and the usual Qatari bullsh*t came into play as per usual . You know how it goes " This is not U.A.E , this is Qatar , this is not the way !"

......and this is where we're at ...Unfinished !

Amateurs

OleJanx

Yes, Qatar has piss-poor standards ( that have proven themselves to be deadly ) nepotism is rife, incompetence and arrogance over-rule common sense every time, and yet the Qatari's still maintain pride over what little they actually achieve...

DOHDUBMAN

Any update on this then?

britexpat76

Ladies of Doha rejoice! (And RyanC)

From Dohanews:-

IKEA Doha has told Doha News that it will open its doors to the general public on the morning of March 11th.
The news follows the invitation via email of hundreds of families in Qatar to a “family day” trial run at the store next week.
Invites for the event seem to have been sent to people who had registered to take part in an earlier trial day, which was cancelled at short notice last month, apparently due to issues with Civil Defence clearance.
Those inspection delays led to a postponement of the planned January 30th opening date, which was in itself a delay - IKEA Doha had originally hoped to open its doors in December last year.
IKEA is located on Al Shamal Road just north of Doha and is the anchor tenant of the upcoming Doha Festival City project.

dubaiguy2011

I can safely say I will never, ever go there.