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Dubai Airport announces $7.8 billion expansion

Originally published on www.businesstravellerme.com 06/07/2011 - Filed under: News »

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Dubai has endorsed a $7.8bn airport and airspace expansion programme which will boost capacity at Dubai International from 60 million to 90 million passengers per year by 2018.

The plan is designed to deliver aviation infrastructure which will support the sector's growth, amid space and slot pressures with the ongoing expansion of Emirates and more recently, flydubai.

The scale of the investment is a huge fillip for Dubai International and indicates that Dubai World Central, which is now operational, will not be taking on a central aviation role, at least for the next seven years.

"The combination of rallying tourism, Dubai's proximity to the emerging economies of India and China, and the emirates' established role as a trading hub, is together expected to drive traffic growth and further elevate Dubai's status as a global centre for aviation," said HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.

"By 2020, 98.5 million passengers and over four million tonnes of air freight will pass through our airports. The fleets and networks of Emirates and flydubai will grow considerably to accommodate traffic and capture market share. Similarly, our infrastructure must expand to enable this growth and facilitate trade, tourism and commerce."

The strategy includes aggressive expansion plans for airspace, airfield, aircraft stands and terminal areas over the remainder of the decade - which will fund the development of Dubai World Central in the long term. 

Additional aircraft movements will be accommodated on the ground with the addition of a new taxiway and a 60% increase in the number of stands needed to park and service aircraft.

Airspace expansion plans focus on optimising runway capacity and implementing efficient systems and processes in order to accommodate and manage additional aircraft movements.

Dubai Airports is engaging national and regional civil aviation authorities and air navigation service providers to ensure that air routes are decongested, bottlenecks are reduced and latent airspace capacity is unlocked.

Beyond Concourse 3, which will boost capacity to 75 million passengers when it is completed at the end of 2012, Dubai Airports will commission the construction of additional terminal space and concourse areas comprising an extra 675,000sqm of floor space - twice the footprint of London Heathrow Terminal 5.

This includes the expansion of Terminal 2 and the construction of a new concourse - Concourse 4 - which will be connected to Terminal 1 to facilitate check-in and baggage servicing.

Additionally, Dubai Airports will upgrade baggage systems across the airport to accommodate demand over the life of the project. Plans include the construction of a remote baggage facility and a high-speed baggage link that will support efficient and timely connections. Cargo capacity will also be augmented with a 30,000sqm expansion of the cargo mega terminal.

After 2018, construction of Phase 2 of Dubai World Central will escalate with the initial target allowing for 80 million passengers per year to facilitate the eventual relocation of the Emirates hub.

Once fully completed, Dubai World Central will be the world's largest airport with five runways and capacity for 160 million passengers.

For more information, visit dubaiairport.com

Report by Dominic Ellis

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