Management at the $14.5bn New Doha International Airport (NDIA) – which opens next year – is seeking expressions of interest from construction companies to build and fit out 25,000sq m of new retail concession space, the large F&B area and additional warehouse storage.

Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Keith Hunter told TREND this morning that this is a first and second phase construction build tender process only, with the tender process and timing for any shop tenders or F&B outlets still to be formulated and finalised for the new airport.

According to a press communique released by NDIA, the physical construction process will involve five airside concourses, the main terminal building, and South and North Node retail centres.

TENDER PROGRAMME TO BE ANNOUNCED
As is well documented, Qatar Duty Free will operate all of the duty free stores and any additional retail concessions that may be tendered in fashion, electronics and other categories have yet to be announced.

However, it is expected that this process – along with the tender(s) for F&B – will be addressed within the next few months as the opening date for 219,000sq m three-storey terminal grows nearer.

The opening of NDIA next year will be a significant milestone for Qatar Duty Free and Qatar Airlines, with Akbar Al-Baker Ceo of Qatar Airlines and Qatar Duty Free telling The Travel Retail Business and TREND exclusively last year: “Once we have that huge kind of facility available to us, then to us nothing is in the way to stop us becoming one of the major duty free concessions in the world.”

The Travel Retail Business estimates that Qatar Duty Free’s annual duty free sales turnover is already in the region of $150m, although the retailer does not disclose its sales figures.