New air terminal planned in Sharjah

Dubai: The Sharjah International Airport plans to build an additional terminal at a cost of Dh1.3 billion, Gulf News has learnt.

Ali Salem Al Midfa, director of Sharjah Airport Authority, told Gulf News that due to the high and unexpected growth in passenger numbers, the airport management is forced to plan for a new facility to cope with the demand.

"Our infrastructure is designed to handle around 8.5 million passengers and we will reach that soon," he said.

The plan of the new terminal is under development and it would take two years to be operational.

The current investment in the Sharjah International Airport is at Dh650 million. Al Midfa said the new terminal costs have not been accurately calculated.

"Factoring in the increase in construction prices, we are not sure of the final investment figures as the consultants are still working on it. But it will be double the amount that we have spent on the current terminal," Al Midfa said.

Neither the general details, nor capacity has been decided yet. There is only a mockup plan to develop a new airport terminal.

The forecast for the current terminal passenger traffic was 8-10 per cent growth, according to the airport masterplan.

However, there was a very sharp increase in air traffic at 35 per cent in the past couple of years.

In 2006, 3.4 million passengers used the airport and the number grew to 4.5 million in 2007.

"We are expecting to reach 5.5 million at the end of this year. This increase is in line with [the growth of] other airlines operating out of Sharjah International Airport," Al Midfa said.

There are currently 29 airlines operating through the airport, including commercial and cargo flights.

"This year we had seven new airlines that began operating from here. We are adding about 15 per cent growth in the number of airlines," he said.

The latest addition to the airlines operating out of Sharjah International Airport is Air Blue of Pakistan.