Abu Dhabi Airports has released a video showing the progress of its Midfield Terminal building as it nears its completion date.
In the video, a series of aerial shots panning across the Dh10.8 million complex to dramatic music, the building sprawls across the desert like a creature basking in the sun. Its four arms stretch out from the building’s base, seemingly anchoring it to the Tarmac. The gates branching out from them will accommodate 65 aircraft when the building is completed next year.
The Midfield Terminal will be the largest architectural structure in the capital, according to Abu Dhabi Airports. At its widest, its roof span is 319 metres, and it contains 18 arches, the largest of which is 180 metres wide and 52 metres high. Situated between the two runways at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the new terminal will allow a short journey from runway to parking stand, according to the airport.
The airports company said in June that the building was 73 per cent complete, and construction would begin on the retail units in the terminal’s duty-free area.
The Midfield Terminal, along with the current airport infrastructure, will serve the rising number of passengers flying through Abu Dhabi, a figure expected to surpass 45 million annually in the next decade. Last year, 23.3 million passengers passed through the emirate, and this year more than 25 million are expected.
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