Burger Federation, Spizzico open at Hamad International Airport

Source: Qatar Airways. Spizzico is one of two new restaurants in the North Node at Hamad International Airport.

Qatar Duty Free (QDF), in partnership with HMSHost International, which provides dining experiences for travel venues has announced two new restaurants in the North Node of Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha.

Burger Federation, a casual dining concept, opened its doors to travellers in the North Node of HIA’s main terminal. The restaurant serves burgers that have been reinvented as contemporary gourmet cuisine. HMSHost responded to customers’ growing demand for high-quality meat with a menu of locally and internationally-inspired burgers made from premium Angus beef and fresh toppings.

Guests are welcome at Spizzico, a quick-service, contemporary bread and pizza bakery offering an assortment of gourmet pizzas, freshly-baked paninis, pastries and salads.

Senior Vice President, QDF, Luis Gasset said: “We invite travellers to try Burger Federation and Spizzico located at the North Node as well as the more than 30 restaurants and grab-and-go-style establishments offering an extensive selection of cuisine from all corners of the globe, strategically placed across the South and North Duty Free Plazas and along Concourses A, B, C, D and E.”

Walter Seib, CEO of HMSHost International, said: ”After the opening of Doha’s first Harvest Market restaurant in HIA in January, we are thrilled to announce the opening of two more restaurants that will appeal to hungry travellers. The strategic partnership with one of the fastest-growing airports in the Gulf, helps us in delivering our mission and conveying our promise of Feeling Good while on the move. Also, this partnership enables us to grow our footprint worldwide with our mixed brand portfolio.”

HMSHost operates international brands and proprietary concepts in more than 100 airports around the globe. Through its HMSHost International division, the company has food and beverage operations in 21 airports across the Middle East, Asia, and the Asia Pacific region.

QDF is a duty-free operator in the Middle East, offering its customers an extensive range of international brands including Moncler, Bally, Burberry, Coach, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Rolex, Bulgari, and Harrods.

Dior pop-up returns to Hamad International Airport with enticing new experiences

• Passengers at Hamad International Airport, Doha can explore Dior’s gardens in the French Riviera
• Qatar Duty Free and Dior to gift scented roses to travellers in celebration of Dior’s new La Colle Noire scent 

The Dior Les Parfums installation is inspired by the Provence rose.

The beauty of the south of France has been recreated in Doha by Qatar Duty Free and Dior with the unveiling of a wall of pink roses at Hamad International Airport (HIA). The 180 sq m Dior Les Parfums installation, inspired by the rose de mai (Provence rose) – the signature bouquet of Dior’s new fragrance La Colle Noire – will greet visitors with a full sensory experience from July until September 2016.

Visitors to Qatar Duty Free can enjoy a perfumed flower garden modelled after Dior’s flower garden in the Château de La Colle Noire, France, while listening to live violin music. Visits to the Dior garden will be completed with a scented rose gift that embodies the beauty and delicacy of the new fragrance.

Qatar Duty Free is also gifting free perfume personalisation to all customers who purchase one of Dior’s exclusive La Collection Privée range from the stand, with the opportunity to have the perfume bottle engraved with a name or message.

Senior Vice President Qatar Duty Free Luis Gasset said: “Shopping at Qatar Duty Free is truly an extraordinary experience for our customers. Our range of luxury brands and exclusive offers are complemented by excellent customer service and incredible experiences that make a visit to Qatar Duty Free in HIA an unforgettable part of the journey.

“This exclusive Dior promotion, the latest brand collaboration for Qatar Duty Free, is part of our ongoing strategy to customise and tailor our offers for our customers who have the opportunity to choose from one of the biggest collections of beauty brands, fragrances and cosmetics, in any airport in the world.”

Commercial Director Travel Retail at Dior, Frank Dagher Hayeck said: “After the great success of the first edition held in 2015 at HIA, we are glad to present our brand new Dior Les Parfums Pop Up 2016 in collaboration with Qatar Duty Free. This year, we will go even further with this partnership, proposing to all the travellers passing through HIA from July to September a unique customer experience while exploring our exclusive podium and all of its numerous treasures: its hundreds of Grasse roses rising up to five metres high, La Colle Noire, (the) famous Christian Dior house, a true quete d’essence with Francois Demachy (Editor's note: Perfumer-Creator, Dior) and many more while getting unique Dior personalised gifts for themselves or their loved ones.”

Qatar Duty Free operates the retail experience at Hamad International Airport (HIA) in addition to an outlet at Doha Port. It is the second-largest duty free operator in the Middle East. At HIA Qatar Duty Free offers 40,000 sq m of combined retail, food and beverage facilities, establishing the retailer as a premier shopping and dining destination.

HK expects to issue third sukuk to finance AA projects

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, John C Tsang, unveiled the 2016-17 Budget on February 24, saying that the city should act swiftly to identify new development opportunities as a result of a new economic order .

The government will strengthen Hong Kong's commercial connectivity to maintain the city's position as an aviation and maritime centre and support the development of high value-added logistics services. The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) is pressing ahead with the implementation of the three-runway system.

The government will strengthen efforts to highlight Hong Kong's edge in developing green financial products and the AA will explore the feasibility of financing through green bonds. Following the success of the two sukuk issuances over the past two years, the government plans to issue a third sukuk in a timely manner, Tsang said.

Randstad Technologies' Maggie Li, Associate Director for Banking & Financial Services, said: “Ranging from the push for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, profits tax exemption initiatives, further plans to issue sukuk, to the new Hong Kong Monetary Authority office to finance projects on the back of the One Belt One Road strategy, the financial services sector is set to benefit from the Government’s initiatives and see growth in various areas such as corporate treasury.”

Emirates Islamic opens new forex counter at Al Maktoum International Airport

Source: Emirates Islamic. Emirates Islamic’s Foreign Exchange Counter at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central.

Emirates Islamic today announced the opening of a foreign exchange (FX) counter at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central. The new FX counter, located at the airport’s departure lounge, will enable travellers and tourists to exchange up to 19 currencies at highly competitive rates.

In addition to Al Maktoum International Airport, the bank operates a FX counter at Port Rashid Cruise Terminal. Foreign exchange and remittance services are an important aspect of Emirates Islamic’s retail product suite, with the bank offering regular seasonal promotions and competitive rates on the currencies available.

Faisal Aqil, Deputy CEO - Consumer Wealth Management, Emirates Islamic, said: “Al Maktoum International Airport is becoming an increasingly busy destination and is expected to handle over 26 million passengers by 2017. We are extremely pleased to open an Emirates Islamic counter to serve the needs of travellers using the airport. As part of our strategy to expand our foreign exchange offerings, we plan to open more counters at high-traffic locations such as malls and airports, as well as continue offering the best offers and rates to our customers.”

Qatar Duty Free and Dolce&Gabbana present new display featuring an exclusive fragrance for the Middle East

Source: Qatar Duty Free. A new Dolce&Gabbana display features a 4m snow globe at Hamad International Airport that will be on display until 14 January 2016.

Qatar Duty Free welcomes the festive season with the installation of a Dolce&Gabbana display featuring a larger-than-life snow globe at Hamad International Airport (HIA). The snow globe, at four m high, is the centrepiece of a display showcasing Dolce&Gabbana’s products, and celebrates the launch of their newest fragrance for men, The One Royal Night. It will be on display until 14 January 2016.

The joint collaboration between Dolce&Gabbana and Qatar Duty Free offers plenty of options for passengers looking to buy a gift. Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Keith Hunter said: “Qatar Duty Free prides itself on offering passengers exclusive fragrances and beauty products, and this is no exception. This partnership not only marks the launch of The One Royal Night at HIA, but is an opportunity for Qatar Duty Free to offer customers the Dolce&Gabbana makeup and Velvet collections. We hope that those travelling from, and through, HIA will enjoy visiting the beautiful display and exploring some thoughtful and personalised gift ideas.”

Source: Qatar Duty Free. The One Royal Night for men is featured together with Velvet niche fragrance collection and D&G makeup.

The One Royal Night for men is an exclusive fragrance within Dolce&Gabbana’s Classic House, The One. The newest fragrance, with an Arabian twist, is an exclusive product from the designers for the Middle East, inspired by the richness, culture and traditions of the region.

The One Royal Night for men is described by Dolce&Gabbana as a blend of opulence and sophistication boasting a woody composition with notes of cardamom, basil, wild pear wood, and spicy nutmeg, followed by a base of cedar, sandalwood, labdanum* and pure amber in its most refined form. Qatar Duty Free will also offer a select number items from the Dolce&Gabbana makeup and niche fragrance collection, Velvet, for the first time at the display.

The Velvet Collection offered will include both 50ml and 150ml bottles of some of Dolce&Gabbana’s most popular niche fragrances such as Velvet Love, Velvet Patchouli, Desert Oud and Tender Oud.

Interested?

For all Dolce&Gabbana products purchased at the display personalised engraving and gift-wrapping will be offered free of charge. 

*Labdanum, also called laudanum, is a resin from shrubs called Cistus ladanifer and Cistus creticus.

Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport opens new terminal

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and Tibah Airports Development Company have announced the opening of a new terminal at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport (PMIA) in Madinah Al-Munawarah, KSA.

This public-private partnership (PPP) and fast-track engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project was completed in 30 months. It is both the first US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified airport terminal outside of the US and the first in the MENA region.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) contracted with Tibah through a build operate and transfer agreement in the first airport privatisation in KSA. The contract is valued at approximately US$1.2 billion. The Tibah Consortium, which comprises Turkey's TAV Airports with Al Rajhi Holding Group and Saudi Oger, appointed a contractor consortium comprising TAV Airports and Al Arrab Contracting Company (ACC) to design and construct phase 1 facilities. CH2M, an engineering consultancy with over 40 years of transportation infrastructure experience in KSA, was appointed jointly by GACA and Tibah to be the independent engineer for the project.

Joe Stratford, CH2M's Project Director, said: "This iconic infrastructure project will facilitate increasing growth in passenger numbers and aircraft movements through provision of world-class modern airport airfield, passenger terminal and landside infrastructure. We are proud to have had the opportunity to play a significant role in the successful and timely delivery of these new facilities."

The new terminal and airfield are built to the highest international standards and allow for an initial operating capacity of 8 million passengers per year. The terminal is modular to allow for expansion in phase 2 to suit the expected future increases in passenger and aircraft traffic, with state-of-the-art facilities affirming PMIA's current and future role as a major gateway for scheduled passengers as well as Hajj and umrah pilgrims to Madinah and Saudi Arabia.

This new terminal takes up 156,940 sq m on three floors, and has 16 aircraft stands served by passenger boarding bridges and 20 remote apron stands. The project also includes the implementation of a widened and extended runway, with 10 km of taxiways capable of accommodating A380 size aircraft.

The project includes a mosque for 1,000 worshippers, and 20 support buildings including dedicated Hajj facilities plus a new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Building.

posted from Bloggeroid

Islamic Development Bank approves grants for projects in Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE

The Board of Executive Directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which met at in conjunction with the 39th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB, have approved US$447.6 million towards financing new development projects in a number of their 57 member countries.

Source: IDB.

The major part of the financing, US$304 million, went to the energy sector, including US$220 million for a power grid extension project in Bangladesh. Other approved financing includes US$87.5 million for the improvement of wastewater management and sanitary services in Al Ghadir Drainage Basin, Lebanon; as well as an additional US$25 million for the second phase of Queen Alia Airport Expansion Project, Jordan, raising the IDB financing for the Queen Alia airport expansion to US$125 million.

The members of the board further approved of IDB's continued contribution to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Dubai, UAE, as the centre represents a successful example of mutual cooperation between the Bank and the UAE. ICBA has developed into a research centre with an international team of scientists and researchers working on innovative solutions to improve the status of poor farmers and to implement development programmes aimed at upgrading productivity in agricultural regions. 

ICBA was launched at the initiative of the IDB, in recognition of the important role by the Gulf states in line with supporting the Bank. The Bank cooperated with the UAE in management and operating of ICBA until April 2010, when the responsibility was transferred to UAE's Ministry of Environment and Water.