The new terminal will be located in Jebel Ali
Dubai is set to move its international airport 35km southwest to the Al Maktoum airfield as part of a US$35bn project, according to its ruler.
United Arab Emirates’ prime minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved the project on Sunday, which will transform Dubai’s international airport into the largest in the world.
Al Maktoum international airport at Dubai World Central, a planned logistics, residential and commercial hub in Jebel Ali, opened in 2010 as a cargo handler and in 2011 was certified to receive limited passenger aircraft. It was officially opened for passenger flights in 2013.
The new terminal will handle 260 million passengers each year
The new expansion plans will see a new passenger terminal around five times the size of the existing Dubai international airport, able to handle up to 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo a year. Plans include five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates. All Emirates and Flydubai operations will be transferred to the new airport by 2035.
“Today, we approved the designs for the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport,” said Sheikh Mohammed during a visit to Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects on April 28. “As we build an entire city around the airport in Dubai South, demand for housing for a million people will follow. We are building a new project for future generations, ensuring continuous and stable development for our children and their children in turn. Dubai will be the world’s airport, its port, its urban hub and its new global centre.”
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed within ten years, at which time it will be able to handle around 150 million passengers annually.
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