Abu Dhabi terminal to set new standards

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Final touches are being put to the design for the new $250m satellite terminal at Abu Dhabi International airport which will double the retail area and create a new landside shopping mall

The first stages of construction are about to begin, with completion scheduled for 2005. Details have just been released in the new Yearbook and Directory of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain airports.

Abu Dhabi aims to double its annual passenger capacity to 7.2m with the construction of the new terminal and second runway. The satellite terminal will contain a commercial area of 7,200sq m (77,472sq ft) and 1,900sq m (20,444sq ft) of passenger lounges. It will have a 100m diameter, translucent titanium dome roof, the first of its kind in the world. Facilities will be provided for all aircraft types including the 550-seat, double-decker Airbus 380 and the infrastructure is planned to incorporate the latest theory and technology in airport design and security. The airport expansion project also includes a new 150-room hotel with a nine-hole golf course and an upgrade of the existing airside hotel.

Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) will have a new area under the expansion plan, which will increase ADDF's total sales space to 7,200sq m (77,472sq ft) and increase the number of brand boutiques to 50 plus 20 other speciality shops in a high street shopping experience. There are also plans to create a further 7,000sq m (75,320sq ft) of space for a landside shopping and entertainment complex.

• The ambitious plans of Abu Dhabi Duty Free are profiled in a special supplement published in association with Duty-Free News International earlier this year.