Business | Aviation
UAE has lion's share of airport development
Nearly a third of the airport development projects across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia by value - $65 billion - are being carried out in the UAE, according to industry estimates.
- By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor
- Published: 00:04 November 9, 2007
- Image Credit: Gulf News
- With projects worth $20 billion currently in various stages, the UAE is leading in the development of aviation infrastructure in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Dubai: Nearly a third of the airport development projects across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia by value - $65 billion - are being carried out in the UAE, according to industry estimates.
With projects worth $20 billion currently in various stages, the UAE is leading in the development of aviation infrastructure in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, slated to be the world's biggest greenfield airport development, leads the projects, while a $6.8 billion redevelopment of the Abu Dhabi International Airport will create a new hub in the UAE capital.
In addition, a $4.1 billion Dubai International Airport expansion, which will more than double its passenger handling capacity to 70 million, will help the UAE create the largest aviation hub in the region.
The first of six runways at Al Maktoum International has already been completed.
It will primarily cater to the growing logistics market, charter operations as well as the business aviation sectors.
A redeveloped Abu Dhabi airport will see passenger handling capacity rising to 50 million, while Al Maktoum International will carry 150 million passengers, making it the biggest in the world.
Upon completion, all three airports will have a combined passenger handling capacity of 270 million per year - more than the total population of the Arab world.
The Dubai Government recently separated its regulatory functions from the operations and management of the aviation sector, to bring in transparency as it gradually reinforces its position as a global hub and spearhead its growth.
Conflict of interest
"Operation and regulation by the same entity poses a conflict of interest. However, the new move will separate those functions and help bring in more transparency to the industry," Robert Ziegler, principal at AT Kearney (UAE) Limited, told Gulf News recently.
Beyond the UAE the $5.5 billion New Doha International Airport in Qatar and the $11.3 billion upgrade of King Abdul Aziz, Madinah and Tabuk airports in Saudi Arabia will raise the value of ongoing projects in the Gulf to $37 billion.
"Fuelled by strong econ-omic growth and increased passenger traffic, the region is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world," said a report.
In Africa, $3 billion has been earmarked to expand Libya's Tripoli International Airport and build five new airports; $850 million will be spent on airport projects in Egypt, including Cairo International Airport; and $725 million on Tambo and Johannesburg International Airports and other regional developments in South Africa.
The five-day 10th Dubai Airshow, which starts on Sunday, will feature some of these projects - the largest in the Middle East and Africa.
"In the Middle East alone, airport developments and expansions are worth in excess of $37 billion," said Nick Webb, director of Streamline Marketing Group, organisers of the Airport Show that takes place next year.
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