DOHA, Qatar

Qatar said Thursday it has expanded Hamad International Airport to cater for over 58 million passengers in preparation to receive travelers and fans of the FIFA World Cup.

The global tournament is set to open from Nov. 20 through Dec. 18, becoming the first Arab and Middle Eastern country to organize the competition.

"All expansion projects of Hamad International Airport have been completed and the capacity increased to 58 million passengers annually,” the airport chief operating officer, Badr Al-Meer, said in statements cited by state news agency QNA.

He said the expansion included the "provision of 34 aircraft parking spaces on an area of 250,000 square meters," bringing the total parking spaces at the airport to 180.

Al-Meer noted that the cargo shipping building of the airport is now the biggest in the world with a storage capacity to 25,000 bags per hour.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar