Business & Finance Club Magazine - Transportation - Qatar: Doha's new $14bn international airport is on track to be ready by the end of 2011, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker has said.

He added that both runways and the main terminal structure were already finished at the airport, which will have a capacity of 24 million passengers in the initial opening phase.

Speaking at Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE), Al Baker said that the airline was committed to continued investment in new aircraft, new routes and improving airport infrastructure.

Apart from new aircraft and new routes, we are also investing in the existing airport infrastructure in Doha to cope with the growth of the airline as we eagerly await the opening of the city’s new airport,” he said in comments published by Qatar Tribune on Monday.

The airline has launched four new routes to Bengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen, Ankara and Tokyo from its Doha hub this year while it plans to start operations to Barcelona, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires in June.

“These are exciting times for Qatar Airways," he told the paper.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 82 aircraft to 89 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and North America.