Existing airport to be commercial complex after NDIA operational: Baker

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) doha � The existing premises of the Doha International Airport will be converted to a major commercial-cum-residential area once work on the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project is completed, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said here yesterday.

He was addressing the annual Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) conference which opened at the Four Seasons Hotel.

While elaborating on the new airport project, Al Baker said that the existing air port will be handed over to Qatari Diar, a leading state-backed real estate development company, once the new airport is ready. Qatar Diar will construct commercial and residential buildings at the area with all the supporting facilities and services.

He said work on the new airport is progressing as scheduled and the facility is expected to be ready by 2009 or 2010. He said the new airport has been designed to accommodate the increasing number of visitors to the country. Over 500,000 visited the country in 2004, and last year the number grew up to 900,000. By 2010, the number is expected to grow up to 1.5 million.

Source: www.menafn.com