New Doha Airport to open December 12 - CEO

Qatar’s new international airport in its capital Doha will officially open on December 12 after costs to build the facility increased by US$1bn, said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways.

In April, Al Baker said the first phase of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) is to hire 8,000 employees in the run-up to its opening later this year.

The upgraded facility, which could be one of the region's major aviation hubs, has already hired 3,000 staff and is in the process of recruiting a further 5,000 in time for the launch, Al Baker said.

“We have already started to recruit the staff since last year,” he told Arabian Business.

“We need nearly 8,000. We have nearly recruited 3,000 and we are in the process of recruiting the rest.”

NDIA began construction in 2004 and is being completed in three phases.

The US$14.5bn project forms a key part of Qatar’s national development strategy. The hub will replace the old airport and help accommodate the rapid growth seen in passenger and cargo traffic in recent years.

Home to the state’s flag carrier Qatar Airways, it will be the world’s first airport designed and built specifically for the Airbus double-decker A380 -the largest passenger aircraft ever built.

The 2,200-hectare site is located 4km east of the old airport and is 50 percent reclaimed land.

Upon completion of the third and final phase in 2015, NDIA will house 80 contact gates, 25,000 sqm of retail space and lounges, in addition to multi-story short-term and long-term parking facilities.

* Additional reporting by Arabian Business