Full article in JPG format: page 48/49 & page 50/51
When the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) opens its doors on 12 December 2012, the Gulf's youngest aviation hub will be able to handle 12.5 million passengers per year – more than eight times the current population of Doha. By the time it is completed in 2015, the 5,400 acre site will be almost two-thirds the size of the capital.
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker, who also heads up the development of NDIA, admitted last month that the project would come in more expensive than planned. His latest estimate pegs it at $17.5 billion (QR64 billion), and few will be surprised if costs rise further.But for Qatar, which has allocated 40 percent of its budget between now and 2016 to infrastructure projects, this is undoubtedly a price worth paying. The tiny Gulf emirate places aviation at the heart of its economic growth plans – matching commitments by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai – and NDIA will be the centrepiece of Doha's strategic vision to become one of the busiest transit hubs in the world...
