Construction work has begun on the $5.5 billion Doha International Airport in Qatar. The country’s prime minister, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, attended the official launch ceremony to lay the first foundation stone on the 1,700 hectare site. The airport, which will also include a business park and a general aviation facility, is scheduled to open in 2009 at a cost of $2.5 billion in the first phase and will be capable of handling 12 million passengers a year. The final phase will be completed in 2015, when the airport will handle up to 50 million passengers a year.