Qatar spends over USD 2 billion to create a first impression benchmark airport

"The new Doha International Airport will be designed to be one of the best airports in the world. For a visitor, the first point of contact with Qatar is generally the airport, and it is our driving priority to ensure that the best ever facilities will welcome first-time and return visitors," said Mr Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Doha International Airport and Qatar Airways.

"Our new airport will set the benchmark for all future airports. It will be an international signature for the vision of Qatar," he declared at the World Travel Market in London during a well-attended and impressive ceremony to unveil the new airport's Master Plan.

12m passenger capacity
The gas-rich emirate on the eastern coast of the Arabian Gulf will start construction of the new state-of-the-art Doha International Airport next year. It will have two parallel runways. It will have an estimated capacity to handle and process nearly 12 million passengers every year.

The terminal would have 24 contact gates in the first phase and would be able to accommodate upto six A380-800 Super Jumbos when fully developed. The complex will also include three high-star classification hotels for the convenience of visitors.

"Importantly, the new airport will position Doha and Qatar as a leading regional aviation hub for at least the next 50 years," said Mr. Al Baker, who is CEO of both the Doha International Airport and the country's national flag carrier, Qatar Airways. Naturally, the airport will be the hub for the airline, which is among the fastest growing in the world.

"The airport will also be pivotal to the continued significant growth of Qatar Airways as a global airline. The new airport will allow us to offer our passengers fast and efficient connections as we build a route network of at least 60 destinations by 2005-end," Mr Al Baker said.

"The new airport's world-class airline and passenger facilities will be an irresistible incentive for major international airlines to operate through Doha," said Mr. Al Baker pointing out that Doha sits astride the travel and transportation connections between the economic powerhouses of the East and the consumers of the West.

30 minute transfers
"We have designed the airport as a 21st century transfer hub in such a way as to transfer passengers and their baggage from aircraft to aircraft within 30 minutes," Mr. Al Baker pointed out.

He said the new Doha International Airport will also be one of the world's first airports to be designed and built specifically for the Airbus A380-800 - the world's largest passenger aircraft.

Opens early 2008
"When it opens in early 2008 after completion of phase one, it will be able to accommodate two A380-800s at any one time. By the time the new airport is fully developed, it will be able to accommodate six A380-800s," said Mr Al Baker.

The 2,200-hectare airport site is to the east of the existing Doha International Airport. It will be developed in three stages, with work onsite to start in the middle of 2004 and final completion by 2015 of the ultimate development.

Phase one of the new airport development will be completed by late 2008 or early 2009. It alone will cost over US$ 2 billion, and will include:

•Reclaiming nearly 50 per cent of the site from the sea with 46 million square metres of fill.
•One 4,850-metre Runway capable of taking a fully laden A380-800.
•Another 4,250-metre Runway.
•A 130,000 square metre three-storey Terminal with 24 Contact Gates, two of which will cater to the A380-800. The terminal will have a capacity of 12 million passengers per annum.
•At least seven Remote Gates.
•An Airport Hotel adjacent to the terminal, and one 100-room Hotel within the Terminal for transit passengers.
•More than 25,000 square metres of Retail Facilities and comfortable Lounges.
•Multi-storey short-term and long-term Parking.
•An Emiri (Royal) Terminal complex for VIP flights.
•An Aircraft Maintenance Centre with Hangers that can accommodate two A380-800s and three A-340s at any one time.
•A Cargo Facility with a capacity of 750,000 tonnes per annum. It will have eight hardstand aircraft parking bays.
•General Aviation Terminal and Hanger.
•A Courier and Mail Facility.
•A Free Trade Zone and Business Park.
•A new Qatar Airways' Headquarters building.
•New Qatar Airways' Training Facilities that will include flight simulators.
•Three Road Interchanges to access the new airport from Ras Aboud Road.

The mid-term phase of the new airport development will include:
•The addition of a further 16 Contact Gates and five Remote Gates. Of the total 40 Contact Gates, four will cater to A380-800s.
•Extension of Terminal building to 219,000 square metres, to handle 24 million passengers per annum.
•A 'People Mover' or suspended monorail that will transport passengers through the Terminal.
•An additional 100-room Hotel for transit passengers.

The final phase of the new airport development will include:
•The addition of another 40 Contact Gates, so that the terminal will have a total of 80 Contact Gates - six of them will cater to A380-800s.
•The further extension of the Terminal building to 416,000 square metres, to handle 50 million passengers per annum.

Construction of the new airport will begin in mid-2004 with the reclamation of land from the sea, said Mr. Al Baker.

"Detailed design work on the Doha International Airport will continue throughout 2004 and 2005, as the site is reclaimed and prepared. Construction of the new airport's major facilities will begin from 2005," added the airport and airline CEO.

Existing airport upgrade
Until the new airport is opened, the existing airport will be significantly upgraded to handle the increase in passenger growth.

"We, at Qatar Airways, have already announced a US$ 38 million programme to upgrade the terminal this year, as part of a broader US$ 140 million programme to increase the annual capacity of the airport from 4.2 million to 7.5 million passengers," Mr. Al Baker pointed out.