Qatar to tender for $2.5b airport project next month

Plans for the $2.5 billion development of Qatar Airport are poised to take a giant leap forward with yesterday's announcement that the work goes out for tender next month.

The project has been split into 18 construction packages for the Phase 1 development. Effectively the aim is to carve the new airport out of the sea and reposition it on the regional aviation map.

The land reclamation work is expected to begin next September and the first phase of the development is expected to be completed by mid-2008.

Qatar is investing as much as $5 billion in the three-phase construction project which, on completion in 2015, will serve more than 50 million passengers a year.

The new airport will be located about 3.5 kilometres north of the current airport. Engineering contractor Bechtel has completed the masterplan for the project and UK-based BAE Systems will act as lead advisor as the plan is rolled out.

Doha International Airport's current passenger handling capacity is about 4.5 million per year. Upon completion of the first phase in 2008, the new terminal will be able to handle about 12 million passengers per annum.

As part of the development, a large cargo complex is also being planned. It will handle 750,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

Qatar initially planned to spend just $1.6 billion constructing the new airport but has been forced to revise its plans.

Qatar Airways' chief executive Akber Al Baker, said: "The development has been designed to create Doha as an aviation hub in the region. Our new airport will set the benchmark for future airport development."