Hamad International Airport in Doha is on track for completion by mid-year of 2014. The announcement was made by HE Abdul Aziz Mohammad Al-Noaimi, chairman of The Steering Committee of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA). Some new details of Hamad International Airport (HIA) were also disclosed along with members of the NDIA Steering Committee. The committee consisted Akbar Al-Baker, Nasser Al-Ansari, Ali Abdullah Al-Abdullah, Mohammed Abdul Kareem Al-Meer, Abdullah Khalifa M Al-Assiri, Essa Arrar Al-Romaihi, Abdullah Jassim Al-Meraikhi, and Saad Farhan Al-Otaibi, as well as aviation stakeholders. The event was held under the theme, ‘Runway to the Future, Gateway to the World’. HE Abdul Aziz Mohammad Al-Noaimi said: “The completion of Hamad International results in more than an airport; it is an international transport hub satisfying all the requirements of the fast-growing aviation sector in the region. This is needed in light of the growing traffic through and into the region, driven by world-scale events planned in the next decade.” HIA will be larger and have greater capacity on its opening day than initially envisioned. Due to increased transit growth in Qatar and the region in the past few years, these modifications were necessary to deliver an airport with a capacity of 30 million on opening day. The third phase was intended for a 2015 start but the process was accelerated and integrated all construction phases to complete the entire project in a shortened time. Progress on the project continues, with planning for construction of Airport City having started in 2012. Source: Travel Daily