According to Dubai’s plans, al-Maktoum International Airport will have a capacity of up to 255 million passengers per year by the year 2050. The project’s first stage will cover 56 square kilometres and increase the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers annually. 5-hour period
Officials are reportedly holding talks, and prospective parties have been told to prepare for the project to restart. Dubai expects that approximately 78 million passengers will use the DXB this year before it returns to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
A delay in construction will significantly boost Dubai’s economy. Dubai opted to resume expansion work after observing a rise in overall traffic, with 66.1 million passengers passing through Dubai International Airport (DXB) in 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down DWC construction as businesses fought it out for the largest contract, worth around $2.7 billion, for Concourse 1 and the substructure of the West Terminal building.
The contract includes back-of-house technical and support facilities and more than 1.7 million square metres of interconnected basement footprint and facilities, including baggage handling systems, people-mover tunnels, ground services road networks, etc.
Regional rivals are motivating the decision to resume the expansion project. Although players like Saudi Arabia are poised to challenge the emirate, Dubai currently holds the title of the largest airport in the area and Emirates the title of the largest airline.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unveiled the master plan for King Salman International Airport in Riyadh to accommodate up to 120 million travellers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050. A new airline called Riyadh Air will also be launched and will be owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Its goal is to establish Riyadh as a gateway to the globe and a central hub for trade, tourism, and transportation while promoting the kingdom positively in the aviation industry.
