Emaar signs Dh40.5bn deal to develop Beijing's Daxing International Airport

Dubai-listed developer is also opening an office in Beijing

Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties. Pawan Singh / The National 

Emaar Properties will develop 10 per cent of the total land area of Beijing's new  Daxing International Airport with residential and leisure facilities, a project worth Dh40.5 billion, state news agency Wam reported on Monday.

In May, Emaar signed a preliminary agreement with Beijing New Aeropolis Holdings (BNA) to jointly develop a business and tourism complex at Daxing, integrating retail, entertainment, office, hotel, convention and leisure space within the Aero-Economic Area of the new airport. The airport is being built to handle 120 million passengers per year, which could make it the busiest in the world.

China will displace the United States as the world’s largest aviation market in the mid-2020s and is expected to see air passenger volume reach 1.6 billion by 2037, according to a forecast by International Air Transport Association. Currently, China is the second-largest civil aviation market.

The Emaar project will cover 5 square kilometres of the 50-square-kilometre airport and is expected to be completed in 10 years.

"This agreement is the beginning of opening new opportunities in the Chinese market, which is the largest in the world," said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.

He also said Emaar will open an office in Beijing to enhance the company's business activities in China.

The announcements come as Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is on a three-day visit to China to boost bilateral trade and economic relations.

Emaar Properties reported a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in profit in the first three months of the year on the back of strong growth in international sales.

Net income for the three months to the end of March climbed to Dh1.74bn, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. Revenue for the reporting quarter was flat at Dh5.89bn.