DOHA International Airport looks a little tired these days. After numerous attempts to smarten up the main terminal building, the departure lounge still feels like a school hall: bare walls, row upon row of hard seats and a hushed silence. There are few distractions: a single television screen permanently tuned to CNN, two simple cafeterias and a few modest duty-free outlets.

But help is at hand for the weary traveller. By late 1999, Doha airport will offer a very different experience. The existing terminal, along with the fleet of buses that ferry passengers to the aircraft, will be taken out of service. They will be replaced by a state-of-the-art terminal, equipped with 14 air-conditioned air-bridges, 48 arrival and departure counters, and a duty-free mall which should meet the demands of the most avid shopper. 'What you will be looking at will be one of the most beautiful buildings in the Middle East,' promises Nasser al-Ansari, projects manager at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture's building engineering department. 'It will be a high quality, fully integrated building with high quality services and the most advanced technology.'

Plans to replace the existing airport were first unveiled in early 1992. Initially, the idea was to construct a totally new complex at a cost of about $500 million on reclaimed land close to Doha port. After three years of discussion and study, that plan was dropped, largely because of the exorbitant cost. The ministry then turned its attention to finding a cheaper alternative and came up with the proposal to develop a site adjacent to the existing terminal. By using existing infrastructure, including the Gulf's longest runway, the ministry estimated the cost of this alternative at about $100 million, nearly all of it to be spent on a new terminal building.

Funding was approved by the government in late 1995 and Fentress, Bradburn & Associates was appointed as consultant. The US partnership has produced the striking design of the new terminal building which is the centrepiece of the project. 'Its design has been conceived from the skeleton of a dhow, thus reflecting local tradition,' Al-Ansari says.

The building will be a steel structure, based around a concrete core. Three storeys high, the ground floor will accommodate arrivals, while the mezzanine level will be dedicated to transfer and transit traffic. The other two floors will be for departures. In total, the structure will have a built-up area of 56,000 square metres, four times the size of the existing terminal.

Among the planned amenities is a duty-free mall with an area of 7,000- 10,000 square metres. There will be a business centre, as well as three first class lounges and a 15-room hotel. Also under consideration is a 1,500-square metre VIP lounge, which may be available for use by the general public for private functions.

There will be new support facilities including workshops, storage areas, fire stations and an air traffic control tower. The existing terminal will remain, although its future use has yet to be decided. One suggestion is to turn it into airline offices.

The ministry has opted to break the construction work into four separate bid packages. Packages A and B, the geotechnical surveys and construction of ancillary buildings, have already been awarded to Canada's Stratacan and the local Construction Development Company (CDC), respectively. Bid documents for package C, the construction of the new terminal, are due to be released to prequalifiers in October or November.

The work will be the largest building contract let in Qatar for many years, so competition for the award is bound to be intense. The ministry received applications to prequalify from about 50 international contractors for the estimated $75 million contract, and up to 10 will be invited to bid for the work.

While having overall responsibility for the terminal, the successful contractor will be assisted by several subcontractors. The bidders for the main contract will be required to choose from a selection of suppliers already shortlisted by the client, for the speciality airport systems, structural steelworks and the curtain walling.

In addition, as part of government attempts to secure as high a percentage of work as possible for local suppliers, the selected international contractor will be obliged to subcontract at least 40 per cent of the total contract to a local building company, holding grade A classification.

With a capacity of 5-7 million passengers a year, the new terminal is forecast to meet Doha's air traffic needs up to 2015 and after that, further expansions are envisaged. 'The terminal has been designed so that it can be expanded gate by gate. The service areas and car parks are also expandable in line with the airport's growth,' Al-Ansari says.

As the present passenger throughput at Doha is estimated at 2.2 million passengers a year, the government clearly has high hopes for the new terminal. Officials argue that passenger demand will reflect the rise in economic activity, which this year is expected to grow by 15 per cent. A recent relaxation of visa rules for GCC residents entering Qatar should also encourage more visitors to Doha.

At the same time, the airport will benefit from the development of the new national carrier, Qatar Airways. After a re-launch in the spring, the airline is aiming to double the number of passengers it carries in the current financial year to 750,000. Finally, the new terminal will allow the authorities to market Doha as a hub airport, something they have not previously been able to do.

The new Doha International Airport project can be viewed in various ways. From the government perspective, it symbolises the new Qatar, a place no longer to be seen as a regional backwater, but progressive and looking to the future. For international contractors, it raises the hope that after years of concentrating on the industrial sector, the government is now starting to spend more on upgrading infrastructure. And, for the travelling public, it holds out the prospect of an end to the long hours of tedium in the Doha departure lounge.