New Doha Airport focus of key presentation in India

Al Baker will speak at the Airport Build And Supply Exhibition & Conference in New Delhi on 16 February 2005. He will highlight plans for the new state-of-the-art airport for which construction began only last month.

Key figures from the airport industry around the world will be at the two-day conference, taking place at the Ashok Convention Centre in the Indian capital. The conference will be opened by the Civil Aviation Minister of India, Mr. Praful Patel.

The blueprint for the New Doha International Airport has been widely acclaimed by industry observers because of its impressive architectural features. Al Baker will highlight the importance of building an airport, which finds the right balance between hi-tech facilities and the environment.

The chosen site is on an old rubbish dump on the coast, which is being recovered and placed in a landfill away from populated areas.

With aircraft landing and taking-off over the sea, the airport will greatly improve the noise and air quality allowing for 24-hour operations without disrupting the urban environment.

The airport will be environmentally friendly with a new artificial coral reef and marine habitat created around the new facility.

NDIA is scheduled to open in 2009 at a cost of $2.5bn in the first phase and will be capable of handling 12 million passengers a year, together with 750,000 tonnes of cargo. Once fully developed in 2015 at a cost of $5.5bn, the airport is expected to handle up to 50 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of cargo a year.

The 1,700-hectare site is approximately four kilometres east of the existing airport. One of the key features is that 40% of the area will be built on reclaimed land from the Arabian Gulf.

The New Doha International Airport aims to develop Qatar as the gateway to the world and become the new expanded hub for the country's national airline Qatar Airways as well as other carriers.

Qatar Airways will operate and manage the new airport, designed to help shape Doha as a key regional and global aviation hub at the crossroads of east and west.

The new airport will be the world's first to be designed and built specifically for Airbus's new A380-800 double-decker 'super jumbo' - the largest passenger aircraft ever built.

The A380 will be capable of carrying more than 550 passengers, with Qatar Airways a launch customer taking delivery of the first of its four A380s in 2009, the year the new airport opens.

Speaking ahead of his visit to New Delhi, Al Baker said: "The new airport will help support the economic boom currently taking place in Qatar and play a key role in the development of the aviation sector in the country. It will also be an ideal base for Qatar Airways and other international airlines to grow their business."

"The new airport will simply be an engineering feat and promises to be a state-of-the-art facility in the region and, indeed around the world, when it opens in four years' time."

US engineering and construction giant Bechtel has been awarded the contract to build the new airport, which will initially have a 26-gate passenger terminal complex, two runways, maintenance hangar, cargo centre and extensive shopping facilities.

The state-of-the-art passenger terminal with a wavy roof structure will be accessed through a roadway network that passes through a man-made lagoon to complement the natural bay and water setting.

The Emiri complex will be an architectural marvel, with the exterior shape of the pavilion representing sailboats, which complement the water setting of the airport. The building is layered to provide a striking effect and will light up the night sky. The complex will also include a pavilion, ceremonial podium, apron, private roadways and parking, surrounded by lush landscaping.

The airport complex will comprise a 75-metre high control tower located between the parallel runways, multi-storey office building, parking and access roads. Triangular in shape with one angle cut by a crescent shape all along its height, the structure will be topped by a glazed cabin.