Dubai Starts Construction on “World’s Largest Airport” Project, Featuring 400 Terminals and 5 Parallel Runways

In Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, work on a new passenger terminal has begun. At an estimated cost of over $35 billion (Rs 2.9 lakh crore), Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai, has said that it would be the biggest terminal in the world.

“As part of Dubai Aviation Corporation’s strategy, we approved the designs for the new passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport today and began construction of the building at a cost of AED 128 billion,” Sheikh Mohammed said on the X platform.

The most popular international airport in the world, Dubai International Airport, will relocate its operations “within the next 10 years” to the city-state’s second, expansive airfield in the southern desert as part of a roughly $35 billion project, the ruler of the city-state said on Sunday.

With the statement of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirates, the long-haul airline, has resumed operations after the suspension of international travel due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Long-term plans to relocate the DXB airport’s operations to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central have been in place, but they were also postponed due to the economic crisis that hit the sheikhdom in 2009.

Sheikh Mohammed stated in an online statement, “We are building a new project for future generations, ensuring continuous and stable development for our children and their children in turn.”

“Dubai is going to be the airport, port, urban center, and new global hub of the world.” The announcement included computer-generated visuals of a white terminal that curved and resembled the classic Bedouin tents seen on the Arabian Peninsula. According to the statement, the airport would have 400 airplane gates and five parallel runways. The airport, like Dubai International Airport, currently has only two runways.

The carrier’s financial standing Emirates has functioned as an indicator of the global aviation sector as well as the general status of this city-state’s economy. Even while some nations emerged from their pandemic huddle more slowly than others, Dubai and the airline emerged from it swiftly, driving visitor growth.

With 86.9 million passengers, DXB had an increase in traffic last year that exceeded its total for 2019. There were 86.3 million passengers there in 2019. Prior to the pandemic, the airport had 89.1 million passengers in 2018, making it its largest year ever. In 2022, 66 million people used the airport.

In February, Dubai said that 17.15 million foreign overnight guests came to the city in 2023, marking its highest-ever tourist figures. 77% of hotels were occupied on average. Its real estate boom-and-bust market is still booming and getting close to all-time high prices.

However, when those passenger numbers surged, DXB’s capacity was once again tested, since residential neighborhoods and two major roads continue to impose constraints on it from all directions.

Approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from DXB, Al Maktoum International Airport debuted in 2010 with only one terminal. During the epidemic, it was used as a parking lot for Emirates’ double-decker Airbus A380s and other planes. In the intervening years, it has gradually come back to life with cargo and private flights. Its wide, uninhabited desert allows it to grow, and it also hosts the yearly Dubai Air Show.

Sheikh Mohammed’s declaration mentioned Dubai’s intentions to go farther south. Its adjacent Expo 2020 location has begun renting out houses to purchasers.

The ruler of Dubai said, “As we build an entire city around the airport in Dubai South, housing for a million people will follow.” “The top businesses in the aviation and logistics industries worldwide will be based there.” Financial constraints have, however, previously forced the effort to cease. The Great Recession-related financial crisis that hit Dubai in 2009 compelled Abu Dhabi to provide the city-state a $20 billion bailout.

The nation-state is now working to recover from the most intense rainfall ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates, which caused days-long disruptions to travel and business.