03 September 2003
Doha: Qatar Airways has invested QR140m this year, part of a half-billion riyal programme, for the expansion of the departure and arrival terminals at Doha airport that will eventually bring the airport’s capacity to around 7.5 million passengers a year, its CEO Akbar Al Baker said yesterday.
The airport’s capacity has already been increased from 1.2 million to the current level of around 4.2 million passengers a year, stretching its capacity to the maximum, he said.
Last year, the number of passengers passing through the airport increased by more than 25 per cent and the amount of freight handled by the airport increased by 20 per cent, he said.
Al Baker was briefing reporters on the latest developments on the Doha International Airport on a tour of the newly renovated arrivals terminal with its expanded Qatar Duty Free shop, a renovated baggage collection area and a new passenger services area.
Al Baker, accompanied by Abdel Aziz Al Noeimi, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority, later formally opened Qatar Airways’ new meet-and-assist service Al Maha Lounge.
Abdel Aziz Al Noeimi said a master plan for the new Doha International Airport, to be built to the east of the current airport, will be completed and submitted to authorities by November this year.
Work on the new airport is expected to start by mid-2004 and completed by the end of 2007.
The total cost of the project is estimated at between QR6 and QR7bn.
The infrastructure of the airport has undergone major improvements with departure check-in counters increased to 44, passenger gates increased to 10 and transfer desks increased to 17.
The number of immigration counters was also increased in both the departure and arrival terminals and state-of-the-art X-Ray systems have been installed in all the terminals.
The conveyor belts have been modified with new technology and are to be expanded to increase its capacity by 30 percent over the next two months, Al Baker said.
In addition, 11 more aircraft parking bases are to be added in two phases that will bring the capacity of the area from 19 aircraft to 30.
Six parking bases will be built in the first phase and five in the second, he said.
He said work is in progress to expand the car parking facility for the airport terminals.
The entire car parking space to be shaded will accommodate about 1,400 cars and a fee will be charged for parking space once the facility is commissioned by November this year, he added.
Doha: Qatar Airways has invested QR140m this year, part of a half-billion riyal programme, for the expansion of the departure and arrival terminals at Doha airport that will eventually bring the airport’s capacity to around 7.5 million passengers a year, its CEO Akbar Al Baker said yesterday.
The airport’s capacity has already been increased from 1.2 million to the current level of around 4.2 million passengers a year, stretching its capacity to the maximum, he said.
Last year, the number of passengers passing through the airport increased by more than 25 per cent and the amount of freight handled by the airport increased by 20 per cent, he said.
Al Baker was briefing reporters on the latest developments on the Doha International Airport on a tour of the newly renovated arrivals terminal with its expanded Qatar Duty Free shop, a renovated baggage collection area and a new passenger services area.
Al Baker, accompanied by Abdel Aziz Al Noeimi, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority, later formally opened Qatar Airways’ new meet-and-assist service Al Maha Lounge.
Abdel Aziz Al Noeimi said a master plan for the new Doha International Airport, to be built to the east of the current airport, will be completed and submitted to authorities by November this year.
Work on the new airport is expected to start by mid-2004 and completed by the end of 2007.
The total cost of the project is estimated at between QR6 and QR7bn.
The infrastructure of the airport has undergone major improvements with departure check-in counters increased to 44, passenger gates increased to 10 and transfer desks increased to 17.
The number of immigration counters was also increased in both the departure and arrival terminals and state-of-the-art X-Ray systems have been installed in all the terminals.
The conveyor belts have been modified with new technology and are to be expanded to increase its capacity by 30 percent over the next two months, Al Baker said.
In addition, 11 more aircraft parking bases are to be added in two phases that will bring the capacity of the area from 19 aircraft to 30.
Six parking bases will be built in the first phase and five in the second, he said.
He said work is in progress to expand the car parking facility for the airport terminals.
The entire car parking space to be shaded will accommodate about 1,400 cars and a fee will be charged for parking space once the facility is commissioned by November this year, he added.
© The Peninsula 2003
