Dubai approves designs for $35bn Al Maktoum airport

Dubai approves designs for $35bn Al Maktoum airport

The $35bn scheme with five terminals and five runways is the emirate’s largest construction project

Dubai has approved the updated designs and timelines for its largest construction project, the $35bn expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport.“Today, we approved the designs for the new passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport, and commencing construction of the building at a cost of AED128bn [$35bn] as part of Dubai Aviation Corporation's strategy,” UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a social media post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on 28 April.Covering an area of 70 square kilometres in the south of Dubai, the airport will have five parallel runways and five terminal buildings with a total of 400 aircraft gates. It will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International airport, and it will have the world’s largest passenger handling capacity of 260 million passengers a year. For cargo, it will have the capacity to handle 12 million tonnes a year.The government of Dubai said that the plan is for all operations from Dubai International airport to be transferred to Al Maktoum International airport within 10 years.The government statement added