Dubai: Dubai World Central (DWC) is confident its aviation district will play a pivotal role in powering “the next generation of aviation business,” a senior executive behind the development said on Tuesday.
Outlining the master plan for Dubai World Central (DWC) at the MEED’s Destination Dubai 2020 conference, Rashid Bu Qara’a, chief Operating Officer of DWC developer Dubai Aviation City Corporation, said the 6.7-square-kilometre aviation district will be able to meet “all present and future needs of modern aviation”.
The integrated aviation district will host facilities for maintenance, overhaul and repair (MRO) services, fixed base operators, light industries and education facilities.
The district includes the Dubai Airshow site, which launched at its new permanent home in the DWC for the first time last November.
Dubai’s non-airline aviation ambitions follow Abu Dhabi’s own strategy to develop a Tier-One aviation manufacturing industry through Mubadala.
Last November at the Dubai Airshow, Mubadala signed agreements with aeroplane manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, and aeroplane engine manufacturers, GE and Rolls-Royce, to assist them in developing the Abu Dhabi industry. The agreements include plans for the manufacturers to source parts from Mubadala.
Bu Qara’a said that the DWC and Dubai stakeholders have taken the steps to relocate “most of the aviation business from Dubai [International] airport to Al Maktoum [International] airport. However, many businesses, including Boeing, still maintain their offices at the Dubai Airport Freezone (Dafza).
Jeffery Johnson, president of Boeing Middle East, told Gulf News that it will continue to go where its customers are, pointing out that it already maintains an office in Abu Dhabi. However, he said that Boeing is still committed to Dafza, which houses its warehouses.
Dafza is located next to Dubai International, home to Emirates and flydubai, two of Boeing’s biggest passenger jet customers in the region.
