Dubai is set to award an additional Dh55 billion ($14.9 billion) in contracts by the end of this year for the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), the city's second hub, with construction continuing unhindered by the regional conflict.
Dubai Airports has awarded Dh13 billion worth of contracts this year for construction of the new DWC terminal, with a further Dh55 billion to be awarded by the end of 2026, the operator's chief executive Paul Griffiths said on Wednesday.
“We've already, in the last 15 months, committed 10 million work hours of activity to the new project – 17,000 piles are already in the ground, and 45 million cubic metres of earth has been moved at DWC,” he said. About 9,000 workers are on the building site, reaching up to 120,000 when the project reaches peak capacity. “What other proof do you need that our confidence in the future is completely unfazed by the development of the new airport?”
Asked if the pace of construction had slowed during the ongoing Iran war, Mr Griffiths put it simply: “I have a one-word answer, and that is 'no'.”
While supply-chain bottlenecks are a “global phenomenon” that have been prevalent since the end of the Covid pandemic, Dubai Airports is mobilising suppliers from around the world to ensure the project is completed on time.
The first phase, scheduled for completion in 2032, will give the new terminal an annual capacity of 150 million passengers. Ultimately, the airport is set to reach a capacity of 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo per year when complete.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is already nearing its long-term capacity limit, meaning that building one of the world's biggest airports will be necessary to accommodate the expected increase in passenger volumes.
“It's a massively ambitious and complex project … and it's a very challenging timescale. But in Dubai we tend to act first and talk about it later,” Mr Griffiths said.
“Al Maktoum International is not some theoretical project – it's actually happening and we are committed to the construction programme because we need it.”
By 2032, DXB will have reached its maximum capacity and “the last thing the city is going to do is to allow its airport infrastructure to constrain its future growth”.
DWC's expansion coincides with the availability of narrow-body aircraft flying longer ranges, such as the Airbus A321 XLR.
These “will be a feature of our network very soon” because they perform economically just as well as wide-body jets without the commercial risk of higher capacity, he said.
“With our DWC project, the timing couldn't be better because those aircraft will enable us to boost the number of cities that we serve by maybe a factor of three. We could have 600 cities served directly from DWC by the time it opens.
“If you look at points on the map, there are so many cities, particularly in Europe and the Far East and Africa, that are too small in terms of traffic numbers to justify wide-body service” but can be economically viable on a long-range narrow-body jet, he said.
Investment is also continuing at DXB to enhance operations, despite the ongoing six-month conflict.
“Our trading numbers are still very positive. Our remittance of cash to the government continues to be very strong and therefore the business case for continued investment in Dubai Airports and in DXB remains very robust,” Mr Griffiths said.
Investments include a newly refurbished hammerhead, a T-shaped widened terminal concourse and a new retail area.
