Dubai: The final stage of the $7.5 billion (Dh27.5 billion) expansion of Dubai International, the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic, is nearing completion, Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths said on Tuesday.
Concourse D is expected to be handed over to manager and operator Dubai Airports “in the next few weeks,” he said at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).
Concourse D, which will be connected to Terminal 1, will be able to handle 18 million passengers a year. There will be 32 new aircraft gates; 21 connected directly to the terminal and 11 remote stands.
The new concourse will help alleviate pressure on Dubai International where passenger numbers continue to rise. The airport handled 6,736,932 passengers in March, 7.2 per cent more than the 6,285,868 passengers it handled the same month a year ago, Dubai Airports said on Tuesday.
The government of Dubai has invested the $7.5 billion to expand passenger capacity to 100 million a year by 2020. The airport handled 70.4 million passengers last year and due to the number of daily flights the airport can become congested during peak period.
Dubai Airports expects 78 million passengers to use the airport this year.
