Hamad International Airport will begin its expansion by the end of this year, Gulf Times reports Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker as saying. The airport, which open in 2014 and is operated by the national carrier, has already seen passenger figures jump 20 percent from last year, exceeding its annual capacity of 30 million.

The planned expansion is currently in the design phase. When completed by 2020, the size of the passenger terminal will increase to more than 1 million square meters, number of contact gates will nearly double to 61 and capacity should reach some 53 million passengers a year.