Abu Dhabi: Dubai is considering resuming its largest construction project, which is the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, local media reported.
The airport aims to become the largest airport in the world by 2050 and to be able to handle up to 255 million passengers annually.
The 120 billion Dirhams (Rs 26,83,06,14,18,000) project, also known as Dubai World Central Airport (DWC), was launched in June 2010 for freight operations and in October 2013 for passenger flights.
The first phase of the project will increase the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers annually, and the project will cover an area of 56 square kilometres. This phase is expected to be completed by 2030.
According to a report from MEED, quoting sources familiar with the project, revealed that talks between officials are ongoing, and the concerned parties have been informed of the readiness to resume work, adding that this step will be a major boost to the emirate’s economy.
The project began to slow in 2019 as Dubai’s economy faltered amid slumping oil prices before the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to progress entirely.
The project was delayed after developers vied for an estimated 2.7 billion dollars sub-construction contract for Concourse 1 and the West Terminal Building, the largest contract ever issued for the project.
Plans to restart the project have been largely driven by the continued recovery in passenger traffic, particularly as Dubai International Airport, the emirate’s main international hub, exceeds its traffic targets with 66.1 million passengers in 2022.
However, the airport is expected to handle approximately 78 million passengers by the end of the year, before returning to 2019 levels in 2024.
One of the main future challenges for Dubai International Airport is the runway capacity, as the airport has only two runways, and with the increase in aircraft movement, the capacity of the two runways is expected to reach their maximum capacity.
This could only get worse as Emirates begins operating its upcoming fleet of Airbus A350-900s – with less passenger capacity than the Airbus A380, that means more aircraft movements.