New International Airport Opening Delayed For Months

Officials of Qatar Airways have filed a legal claim amounting to some $600 million against a contractor for delays in opening a new international airport in Doha.

The suit, filed against Lindner Depa Interiors (LCI), claims the contractor is responsible for pushing the opening of the New Doha International Airport from December 2012 to the second half of 2013, according to a report appearing in Construction Week online. Qatar will operate the airport after its opening. The primary issue appears to be the completion of 19 airport "lounges" which LDI was to have completed by last summer as part of a $250 million contract. The total cost of the airport is reportedly about $15.5 billion.

In a statement on its website, LDI said that the company is "currently in arbitration proceedings with the New Doha International Airport (NDIA), with whom it was contracted to work. LDI was denied full access to the project site for the first nine months of the sixteen months project. This delay, combined with NDIA’s refusal to pay acceleration costs recommended by its own management consultancy, meant LDI was unable to start all interior contracting work on site as planned. As a result, LDI was unable to meet its original contract completion date."
 
The company said it "acknowledges Qatar Airways statement as a false and misleading representation of the facts around the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project. LDI is deeply disappointed by the allegations made by Qatar Airways and rebuts all claims. Furthermore, LDI has never had a contract or relationship with Qatar Airways, nor has it received any legal claim from the airline."

FMI: www.depa.com/english/home, www.ndiaproject.com