With natural light fostering a calming atmosphere , the area’s unique design enables trees and plants to easily adapt to the internal conditions and grow over the course of the airport’s existence.

The long-awaited expansion project at Hamad International Airport was officially launched on Thursday.

Located at the heart of the recently expanded terminal, The Orchard is a 6,000 square metre indoor tropical garden. The 575 square metre water feature, which is an aquatic plant installed in a sustainable bio pond, will serve as one of the airport’s main attractions.

Over 300 trees and more than 25,000 plants from sustainable forests all over the world are displayed in The Orchard.

Thanks to the expansion, the airport can now accommodate more than 58 million passengers.

The following phase, which will start in early 2023, will expand HIA’s capacity to over 75 million people and build two new concourses inside the current terminal.