The Qatar Al Hamad International Airport Finally Set for Opening Mid-2014

Initially due to open in 2012 and then again in April 2013, the Doha International Airport, renamed Halad International Airport, has been the talk of Qatar due to untimely delays and challenges in regards to contracts.

Bechtel has been the main contractor responsible for delivering the airport project.  Over 1000 designers, architects, project managers and engineering consultants have worked on the project, through more than 200 regional, international and local contractors and service contracts.

The $15.5bn project came face to face with major issues that resulted in the termination of awarded contracts in 2012 and a number of major claims to be dealt with, although the end product will hopefully be well worth the wait and the unexpected complications.

The airport has grown bigger than originally envisioned. Now with a passenger terminal and a capacity to handle 30m passengers the site will also include 65 contact gates (as opposed to 33 originally) and five concourses (rather than 3).

The terminal will now include over 100 F & B and retail outlets, 16 lounges, 28 art installations, swimming pool, transit hotel, luxury spa, squash court, and an on-site public mosque with a capacity of 500 at a time.

A collaboration started in 2012 between the Halad International Airport and OMA (a leading international partnership practising architecture, urbanism, and cultural analysis), which also involved the Consultancy WSP.  The vision was for Doha to not only have a new airport but also a new city. The Airport City development will accommodate 200,000 people living and working there. Four circular districts will run parallel alongside the HIA runways. The timescale for this 30 year plan hopes to have the bulk of development completed for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.  Links to the airside and landside plans will involve businesses, retails, hotels and residences.  

For each district, there will be a unique identity. The business district will centre around the major new transport hub, the residential district will accommodate future employees and sit adjacent to the Doha Bay Marina, and stretching across the site will be public spaces, gardens and plazas. 

Before the 2022 World Cup, Airport City infrastructure and utilities will be completed along with the Western Taxiway and Aircraft Parking System adjacent to the HIA 2nd runway and the HIA Visa Building.

In light of the growing traffic in the region, geared up by world-scale events planned in the next decade, officials say “The result is more than an airport; it is an international transport hub satisfying all the requirements of the fast-growing aviation sector."

HIA and Airport City span a total of 29 sq km, 60 percent on land reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf, ensuring a busy period for the HIA completion in 2014 and the majority of the Airport City completed by 2022.

Please get in touch with your CV if you are interested in working on this or other construction projects in Qatar or the Middle East.

Natasha Bailey
Recruitment Consultant
Maxim Recruitment
Middle East Region