Dubai announced on Sunday the construction of a new passenger terminal at Al-Maktoum Airport, set to become the “largest airport in the world”, at a cost of more than $34.8 billion.
“We approved the plans for the new passenger terminal at Al-Maktoum International Airport, and the start of construction of the building worth 128 billion dirhams (about $34.85 billion),” Sheikh said Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates on
When fully operational, this airport will be “the largest in the world”, with a capacity of 260 million passengers per year, he said, adding that this new airport will be five times larger than Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world.
According to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and CEO of the emirate’s airline, Emirates, the first phase of the project will be completed within 10 years, and will “accommodate 150 million passengers per year.
Located on the outskirts of Dubai, Al-Maktoum airport has since 2010 welcomed a small part of the air traffic of the rich Gulf emirate. It is called upon to take over from Dubai International Airport (DXB), recently paralyzed by torrential rains, whose maximum capacity is 120 million passengers, and whose location, in the center of the city-state prevents the enlargement.
