Dubai's new airport can officially welcome passengers from next month after it received the go-ahead from the General Civil Aviation Authority.
In a letter issued on Sunday, the regulator certified that Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central has met all of its requirements and is able to begin handling passengers from October 27, Dubai Airports said on Monday.
The news has long been expected, with the Saudi-based carrier Nasair and the Hungarian budget airline Wizzair ready to commence passenger services from the new airport in Dubai’s Jebel Ali district on that date.
The approval is the latest stage in opening what is expected to become the world’s largest airport, forming part of a massive new Dubai World Central residential, commercial and logistics complex.
The airport, which has been handling cargo flights since June 2010, is planned to ultimately comprise five runways and have capacity to move 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo per year.
In July, Dubai International Airport welcomed 5.3 million people through its gates, a 6.1 per cent increase on the same month the previous year as it strengthened its position as the world's second-busiest airport for international travel after London Heathrow. During the same period passenger numbers at Heathrow rose 5.5 per cent to 6.9 million.
The passenger terminal at Dubai World Central, which was completed last year, will initially be able to handle 7 million passengers a year. It is expected to ultimately take over operations from the Dubai International.
“This is a welcomed and critical step forward in the process of preparing DWC for full passenger operations,” said Jamal Zaal, vice president of airside operations at Dubai Airports. “We will continue to press ahead with trials that test every system, process and piece of equipment in the new terminal, be it signage, gates or boarding procedures to make sure the new facility is ready to accept passengers on October 27.”
Dubai Airports said that before the opening, it plans to test the new terminal by asking some 1,000 members of the travelling public to identify areas for improvement in a test run.
Before that, employees will be testing the new facility early next month as a dress rehearsal for the public trials.
Dubai Airports said it had experienced overwhelming support from volunteers in its trial recruitment campaign, which was oversubscribed within 48 hours.
“The support from volunteers has been tremendous, which only goes to prove that in Dubai, people are passionate about aviation,” said Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports.
DWC is also gearing up for additional flights taking place over 80 days from next May, when some scheduled passenger flights and all freighter, charter and general aviation flights are diverted from Dubai International to DWC so that the older airport can carry out essential engineering work on its runways.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
