22/02/2005 -
Construction Begins
Of New Doha
International
Airport
Qatar’s Prime
Minister Launches
$5.5bn Mega
Development Project
11 January 2005
Doha, QATAR –
Construction work
has officially begun
today of the new
$5.5bn Doha
International
Airport (NDIA) with
a ground-breaking
ceremony at the
heart of the
construction site in
the State of Qatar.
The Prime
Minister, His
Highness Sheikh
Abdullah bin Khalifa
Al Thani, was the
official guest of
honour at the
ceremony attended by
senior government
officials, members
of the Cabinet and a
host of local and
foreign dignitaries.
His Highness
Sheikh Abdullah bin
Khalifa Al Thani
laid the foundation
stone marking the
start of
construction on the
1,700-hectare site,
approximately four
kilometres east of
the existing
airport.
The
ground-breaking
ceremony was also
attended by
ambassadors, Qatari
and international
business leaders,
officials from
project managers
Bechtel and senior
airline personnel
from many carriers.
The New Doha
International
Airport will fulfill
three critical
roles: Qatar as the
gateway to the
world; hub for the
country’s national
airline Qatar
Airways and other
carriers; and as a
cargo and aircraft
maintenance centre.
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.
One of the
project’s key
features is that 40%
of the site will be
built on reclaimed
land from the
Arabian Gulf.
Qatar Airways
will manage the new
airport, designed to
help shape Doha as a
key regional and
global aviation hub.
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.
Abdul Aziz
Mohamed Al-Noami,
Chairman of the
Civil Aviation
Authority of Qatar
and Chairman of the
NDIA Steering
Committee, said: “We
are very grateful
for His Highness
Sheikh Abdullah bin
Khalifa Al Thani,
The Prime Minister,
for laying the
foundation stone
today that signals
the start of
construction on site
of this wonderful
new airport which
will help support
the economic boom
currently taking
place in Qatar.
“This new airport
will play a very
important role in
the development of
the aviation sector
in Qatar and will be
an ideal base for
Qatar Airways and
other international
airlines.”
Added Akbar Al
Baker, Qatar Airways
Chief Executive
Officer: “We are
delighted to see
work begin on this
brand new airport
which will 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.
“This airport
will be custom-built
for the new
double-deck Airbus
A380 of which Qatar
Airways is pleased
to be one of the
launch customers.
Qatar Airways will
proudly showcase
this aircraft when
it makes its maiden
flight in our
colours to the new
airport in Doha in
2009.”
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.
There will also
be a 1,900 square
metre airport mosque
with minaret in a
garden plaza located
on the south side of
the airport’s main
passenger terminal.
The Emiri complex
will be an
architectural
marvel, with the
exterior shape of
the pavilion
representing sail
boats 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. |
