Consolidated win Qatar airport reclamation deal

expat network

Consolidated win Qatar airport reclamation deal

Aircraft at Hamad International Airport will have more room to manoeuver when the new project to add additional taxiways is completed, the New Doha International Airport Steering Committee has said.

In a statement, the committee announced that it had awarded a QR277 million (US$76.11 million) contract to Consolidated Engineering Construction Co. to reclaim land to build the taxiways on the northwest tip of the property.

The move comes as HIA prepares to expand its airport to accommodate rapidly-growing passenger traffic.

The taxiway project involves filling in a body of water previously referred to as a naval base lagoon, increasing the size of the airport by nearly 272 acres, officials said.

Some 3 million cubic meters of earth will be required for the project, which would be enough to fill the iconic Burj Qatar some eight times.

In a statement, steering committee chairperson Abdulaziz Al-Noaimi said:

“We are gearing up for the expansion of the western airfield as necessitated by the growth of our national carrier and the requirements for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”

Some 26.3 million passengers used HIA and its now-shuttered predecessor, Doha International Airport, in 2014. Officials are expecting that figure to climb 10 percent this year.

The new airport can currently handle 30 million passengers annually. Several ongoing and planned expansion projects are expected to increase that figure to 53 million travelers by 2020.

Plans include enlarging the passenger terminal by adding new check-in counters, lounges, restaurants and boarding gates, as well as building a connection to the Doha Metro.

Meanwhile, airport authorities have also drafted plans to expand the airfield west of the runways to provide more space for planes to taxi, as well as add ancillary services such as utility plants, a fire training center and fuel facilities.

The land being reclaimed under the contract announced this week is located to the north of the airfield.

In preparation for the project, more than 5,000 square meters of seagrass and 88 specimen of pen shell clams were transplanted to an undisclosed location approved by the Ministry of Environment, airport officials said.

The statement added that the reclamation project involves removing the existing rock revetments – sloped walls designed to absorb the impact of incoming water – along the eastern and southern boundaries of the lagoon that border the existing runway and airfield.

Meanwhile, 690m of new rock revetments will be constructed on the northern boundary.

Airport officials said the contractor will reuse the rocks from the old revetments and use fill from other parts of the HIA construction project to minimize the amount of earth that needs to be transported to the property.

Locally, Consolidated Engineering Construction Co. was previously involved in developing the ports in Al Khor and Al Ruwais, as well as deepening and widening the navigation channels leading to the two marine facilities, according to the firm’s website.

The HIA land reclamation project is expected to be completed by March 2017.

Source: Doha News

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.