The new airport is being built in response to a huge projected demand for additional
passenger capacity to the Gulf region and Qatar's expanding economic strength as a
business and tourism destination. It is the first international airport to be specifically
designed with the Airbus 380 in mind.
Currently, Doha International Airport handles 4.2 million passengers a year, whereas the new airport will be able to handle 12.5 million passengers per year after the FIRST phase of construction.
This First Phase alone will cost in the region of $2.5 billion dollars, whilst Phases Two and Three are projected to cost an additional $5 billion dollars.
Phases One and Two are due to be completed together in 2009, giving New Doha International Airport the capacity of 24 millon passengers per annum ,or 8700 per hour, and enable the transportation of 750,000 tonnes of cargo per year.
When complete, in 2015, the airport will, in one year, be able to handle 50 million passengers; 2 million tonnes of cargo and 320,000 take-offs and landings.
It will be three times the size of the current Doha International Airport and have six times the capacity!
The eastern runway will be 4850 metres long !! That is nearly FIVE KILOMETRES!!
At opening day, the 35,000 square metre passenger terminal will be the largest building in Doha, covering an area equivalent to 50 full size football pitches.
Many airport buildings have a water theme.
The passenger terminal roof is shaped like a wave.
The airport will also feature a separate Emiri Terminal for visiting VIPs and Heads of State. This Emiri Terminal is externally shaped like sail boats.
New Doha International Airport will serve as a global hub for Qatar Airways, the world's fastest growing premium airline.
The airport is being constructed just outside Doha, the fine, modern capital city of Qatar.
When complete, it will be two-thirds the size of the city, and 12 times larger than the existing Doha International Airport. It will be vast!
During construction, the existing airport will be expanded and refurbished, at a cost of $140 million dollars, to increase capacity to 7.2 million passengers per year, as an interim measure until the new airport takes over.
The project to build New Doha International Airport began in 2004, with a detailed planning and design phase, produced by the Bechtel Group Inc, the main contractors.
The work continued in 2004 with a massive land reclamation project, since half of the area of the new airport is on 10.9 square miles of land reclaimed from the sea.
That reclamation, requiring 50 million cubic metres of "fill" to complete it, was finished in early 2005. This reclaimed area needed 13 kilometres of armoured seawall to be constructed as protection from the sea.
New Doha International Airport will have two parallel runways when complete, with 24 contact gates in Phase One to handle up to six A380-800 Super Jumbos, when fully developed.
Qatar Civil Aviation Authority [QCAA] and the New Doha International Airport Steering Committee are the bodies responsible for the construction of New Doha International Airport.......or Qatar International Airport, as it will inevitably be popularly known to millions of passengers!
At the airport, there will be a Free Trade Zone; an office and business park; a retail mall
and several 5 star hotels.
It is an excellent, very exciting project and the Government of Qatar is to be
congratulated on its far-sighted vision.
Qatar is putting its current high income from oil and gas production to extremely good use. New Doha International Airport is an extremely sound investment for the future.
Other innovative projects in Qatar are also a testament to this foresight. The development of the superb Doha Corniche is just one of them. Several high quality, luxury hotels are also in the process of being built in Doha and elsewhere, as Qatar makes a really big effort to establish itself as a major destination in international tourism.
It is well on its way! New Doha International Airport will ensure that Qatar achieves its growth targets!!
