Abu Dhabi’s prestige Midfield Terminal on track for 2017 opening – in pictures

The terminal will have 28,000 square metres of commercial space. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Abu Dhabi International Airport has been one of the fastest-growing in the world since the inaugural flight of Etihad in 2003. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Next month, Adac will announce the winners of the franchises to operate the commercial space that will occupy the mall inside of the terminal. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The airport’s passenger traffic growth is expected to continue through to the opening of the Midfield Terminal two years from now, when it is expected to be 30 million. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

One of the key goals for the airport is to maintain its top passenger experience rating from the International Air Transport Association (Iata), where it is one of only two in the Middle East and Asia to carry such a score. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Even with a slowing growth rate, Adac is still projecting that traffic will grow to about 48 million passengers by 2025. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

As with the two major museums being built in the capital, the Midfield Terminal picked a world-renowned architect to design its building – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, which also designed the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority building on the Corniche. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Adac chairman Ali Al Mansoori emphasised that the project was not affected by the oil price downturn. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The consortium building the Dh19 billion Midfield Terminal complex (which includes six related projects, including a new car park and linking roads) is made up of Turkey’s TAV, Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Co and the Abu Dhabi builder Arabtec. It is expected to hand over the project by July 2017. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Adac then will complete the operational readiness and airport transfer process by the end of the year, and the hope is to time the first flight for UAE National Day on December 2. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Construction workers working on the Midfield Terminal. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Inside the central processing area of the structure. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The new terminal is a prestige project for the Government-owned Adac. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Construction continues on the Midfield Terminal. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The new terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport is a linchpin of Abu Dhabi’s broader plans to increase tourist traffic as part of the Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy.