Dubai to construct the world’s biggest airport

Ruwanthi ABEYAKOON

AIRPORT: The USD 10 billion Jebel Ali Airport City in Dubai will be the biggest airport in the world. It will transform Dubai into one of the world’s key aviation centres and business super hubs.

This project is designed to revolutionise air travel and boost aviation business in the rapidly developing Emirate.

The new airport will cover 140 square kilometers and will be capable of handling 120 million passengers and 12

 million tons of cargo every year.

The first phase of the project will cost USD 547 million including Logistics city and a runway. The Airport City will feature a golf course, aerospace industry and residential compounds.

Fourteen cargo terminals and six runways will be built at the new airport enabling 100,000 aircraft movement.

Meanwhile USD 4.1 billion is allocated for the constructions of the underground terminal 3, concourse 2 and 3 at Dubai International Airport.

In line with the expansion of Emirates and other airlines using the airport, the total growth in passenger figures has reached 29 million by the end of 2006.

In 2005 passenger movement at DIA showed a growth of 14.1 per cent while the aircraft movement grew by 10.9 per cent in the same period.

Concourse 2 and 3 are designed to ease the flow of the anticipated 70 million passengers by 2010.

The expansion of Dubai International Airport is the biggest airport development in the world. The projects will reach completion by the end of this year.

The new cargo mega terminal will be built in phases and completed by 2018. The new cargo terminal will have the capacity of handling five million tons of cargo annually. It will put DIA in the top six airports of the world in terms of cargo capacity.

Emirates-the award winning international airline of the UAE operates 17 flights a week between Colombo and Dubai.