HP News Desk

Dubai intends to continue working on Al-Maktoum International Airport’s expansion, which is thought to be the city’s largest building project.

The project, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), which has an estimated cost of AED 120 billion ($33 billion), started in 2010 for cargo operations and in 2013 for passenger operations.

Al-Maktoum International Airport will have a capacity of up to 255 million passengers per year by the year 2050, according to Dubai’s plans. The first stage of the project will cover 56 square kilometres and increase the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers annually. By 2030, the initial phase is anticipated to be finished.

Officials are reportedly holding talks, and prospective parties have been told to get ready for the project to restart. Due to a delay in construction, this will significantly boost Dubai’s economy. Dubai opted to resume expansion work after observing a rise in overall traffic, with 66.1 million passengers passing through Dubai International Airport (DXB) in 2022.

Before it reaches pre-pandemic levels in 2024, Dubai anticipates that 78 million travellers will utilise the DXB this year. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down DWC construction as businesses fought it out for the largest contract, worth around $2.7 billion, for Concourse 1 and the substructure of the West Terminal building. The contract includes back-of-house technical and support facilities as well as more than 1.7 million square metres of interconnected basement footprint and amenities, including baggage handling systems, people-mover tunnels, ground services road networks, and so forth.