China State Construction Engineering Corporation has been terminated on its QR641m ($176m) building contract at New Doha International Airport (NDIA).

The contract was terminated on 19 October and the contractor has been instructed to leave the site. “The contract has been terminated,” says a source close to the project. “The contractor has been given 14 days to leave the site from the date of notice [of termination].”

The Beijing-based contractor was given notice to proceed on the contract by the NDIA steering committee in January this year (MEED 15:1:10).

The contract to build airport support facilities involves the construction of about 20 building at the airport, including a general aviation terminal and hangar, general service buildings, fire stations and administration buildings.

US-based Bechtel, which is the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor on the project, is now deciding how to proceed with the building package, which could be retendered. According to sources close to the project, four companies have already been approached to complete the works.

Elsewhere on the NDIA project, the joint venture of Belgium’s Six Construct and the local Midmac Contracting Company has started mobilising onsite for its contract to build an extension to the passenger terminal.

The joint venture was awarded the QR2.7bn ($740m) contract for the north node or phase 3a in June this year.  The 127,000 square metre extension will connect to NDIA’s main passenger terminal, which is being built by the Sky Oryx consortium, which is comprised of Japan’s Taisei Corporation and Turkey’s TAV (MEED 1:7:10).

The first phase of the $11bn airport is scheduled to open in late 2011. It includes two runways and a 465,000 sq m airport terminal, with 24 aircraft gates and capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year.