New Doha International Airport

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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected new airport.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the construction and/or completion of the airport approaches, and as more information becomes available on it.

New Doha International Airport (NDIA) is slated to replace the old Doha International Airport as Qatar's only international airport in 2009. Construction began in 2004 and the first two phases are scheduled to open in 2009 while the third and final phase is scheduled for 2015. The airport will be built over 22 square kilometers which half is on reclaimed land.^[1]

The airport was designed primarily to deal with the growing amounts of traffic at the airport. To the first end, the airport will be able to handle 24 million annual passengers at its opening, three times as many as the current airport capacity. Upon final completion, it will be able to handle 50 million passengers, however the menareport had listed that the expected capacity would be up to 93 million passengers, making it the second largest capacity holder in the region after Dubai^[2], it is also expected to handle 320.000 aircraft movements a year, and 2 million tonnes of annual cargo. The check-in and retail areas are expected to be 12 times as large than as at the current airport (two-thirds the size of Doha^[3]). Moving walkways will be installed to handle the traffic. It will have a 3 star transit hotel and one 5 star luxury hotel. A catering service will be provided, catering of 75,000 meals a day.

The airport is being given oasis theming. Many of the buildings will be water-themed, with waved roofs and desert plants being grown in recycled water.

To emphasize its modernity, a massive environmental project has sprung up around the airport. A portion of the site is being built on top of a landfill, which was moved to a cleaner and better organized facility. It became the largest landfill relocation in the Gulf region. The airport will be equipped with heat and occupancy CO₂ sensors, and the roof will be tinted to conserve energy.

NDIA Steering Committee has awarded Bechtel to develop the airport. The contract includes the design, construction management and project management of the new facilities. About 32 Contracts Packages are planned to be awarded to subcontractors on the airport construction.

Site works for Phase I Development commenced at site since March 2004. Schedule of works as of September 2006 :

a) Construction completed : Site mobilization; Excavation & removal of rubbish tip; Reclamation; Engineered Landfill; Passenger Terminal Foundation

b) Construction in progress : Passenger Terminal Complex; Emiri Terminal Parking Structure & Mosque.

c) Design in progress : Airfield Paving & Road Tunnel; Landscaping & Irrigation; Utility System; Airside/Landside Roadways; Airport Operation Facilities; Fuel System; Air Traffic Control & Support Facilities; Airline Engineering & Operation Facilities.

d) Contract Formatting : Airline Support Facilities; Catering Facility; CAA Headquarter Facility; Aircraft Maintenance Hangar; Terminal Access Tunnel & Cross Taxiways.

Phase II works include expanding the passenger terminal to cater for 24 million passengers annually, with the expansion of further airport facilities, there will be 22 remote gates with 40 contact gates with a cargo facility cable of handling 750,000 tonnes of cargo per year.

To ensure the success of the project, Bechtel implements a stringent management style at site, from the appointment of subcontractors' key personnel down to the vehicle moving speed at site. Subcontractors maybe removed from the site due to nonperformance or noncooperation, exceeding the speed limit, etc.

Phase I and II works are scheduled to be completed in 2009.

[edit] Runways

The airport will have 2 parallel runways. The west runway is 4280 meters while the east having 4850 meters, which would make the east runway the second longest runway in the world.^[4]