Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi will reopen on Saturday following the completion of a major upgrade project.
A senior official at Abu Dhabi Airports on Wednesday told The National that the expansion ― particularly widening the runway ― will allow the airport to formally handle larger aircraft.
Other works undertaken since the private jet facility closed for all but helicopters on May 11 include a substantial new boundary wall, runway resurfacing, upgraded ground lighting, enhanced signage and landscaping.
“It has been a major project involving different elements of the airport,” said Matar Al Suwaidi, senior vice president of terminal operations at Abu Dhabi Airports.
“Everything you can see and touch is being enhanced.”
Airport ushers in new era
The refurbishments mark a new era for an airport that was the first modern international facility in Abu Dhabi.
Al Bateen opened in the late 1960s to cater for a surge in people arriving into Abu Dhabi after oil was found. It replaced the sand airstrip, had a distinctive concrete-roofed terminal and even gave its name to “Airport Road”, which has since been renamed Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street.
But it was clear even by the 1970s that demand in Abu Dhabi was likely to necessitate a much larger facility. “Al Bateen is at the heart of Abu Dhabi and on the island, so expansion would be limited. The leadership foresaw the airport [needed] to be moved away from[the] island,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
The current main airport opened in 1982 to cater for increased demand, and, in the years since, Al Bateen functioned as a military base before becoming a dedicated airport for private jets.
It is also getting ready to host Abu Dhabi Air Expo from November 1 to 3. The event is expected to attract more than 18,000 visitors and host more than 300 manufacturers and suppliers.
The project has been timely in this regard because the runway will change from a 4C to a 4D ― in airport terminology ― which means it can handle twin aisle jets, such as Boeing 767s, whereas before it could only accommodate single aisle planes such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s.
Twin aisle jets would have landed at Bateen before but this required permission from the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority. Certifying the airport as a 4D means certain types of twin-aisles can land without needing this permission.
But the works alone do not award the certification and the authority will give its final approval.
“It is not a switch-on and switch-off decision,” Mr Al Suwaidi said. “There is documentation to provide and testing to conclude. It will take some time.”
It is also planned to rename the three existing terminals before the end of the year as part of a branding initiative to further boost the airport.
“There is a very high demand for a [private jet] facility,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
Al Bateen can accommodate 50 parked jets and the people who use the facility include government delegations, business people and high-net-worth individuals from across the world who prize discretion and do want the hassle of flying through a main airport.
"The business model is you have more privacy and the moment you get off the plane [at Bateen] and into the car is 100 metres,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
“[Some people] are not interested in going to the duty free and from one terminal to another. Here everything is done in one place. A one-stop shop.”
The airport can also accommodate helicopters, with Abu Dhabi Police, a search-and-rescue service and private operator among those based there.
A cost for the works was not disclosed, while final tests are now being carried out before Saturday’s opening.
Abu Dhabi's rich aviation history - in pictures
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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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Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
