Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) has invited prequalification bids for the 'Midfield Terminal Building' as part of its $6.8 billion expansion programme.

The airport has planned a multi-billion-dollar investment programme of which the centrepiece is the Midfield Terminal Complex (MTC), which comprises a state-of-the-art terminal facility (Midfield Terminal Building – MTB) that will include a vast array of duty free offerings, restaurants, lounges and much more, to cater for a capacity of 40 million passengers per year.

The terminal building will be one of the region’s largest and most architecturally iconic structures. It will be 630,000 sqm in size. The central space of the terminal building will be large enough to hold three full-sized football pitches while the check-in hall features a ceiling 52 m tall at its highest point.

The MTC development program will also encompass airside and landside infrastructure, a multi-storey car park, cargo building, catering building, maintenance complex and other supporting facilities.

The MTB will include up to 20,000 to 25,000 sqm of retail and food and beverage outlets. These are set around a 1,000 sqm indoor garden, another first for the region, which will host a wide variety of landscapes and species from the region and beyond.

The new iconic terminal building will be situated between the existing and new runway that opened in 2008. The new terminal complex will increase the capacity of ADIA to more than 40 million annual passengers when its final phase of development is complete.

ADIA is also undertaking numerous other projects to expand the cargo and support facilities as well as creating significant new infrastructure and facilities for a major Free Trade Zone.

By 2015, 20 million people are expected to use Abu Dhabi International Airport as their origin, destination or transit point for their international flights. This growth trend is expected to continue well into the future as the overall economy expands and diversifies. -TradeArabia News Service