Dubai: Dubai World Central, the emirate’s new airport under-construction, expects the volume of freight it handles to accelerate further next year as the number of flights to the Jebel Ali hub increases, a top company official said on Tuesday.
“In 2011 we saw about 90,000 tonnes of cargo in total, and until September this year, the number was about 165,000 tonnes. By this year’s end we do expect the number to be in excess of 200,000 tonnes,” Khalifa Al Zafein, the executive chairman of Dubai World Central, told reporters on Tuesday. He expects growth to accelerate further in 2013 on the back of increased flights and more cargo companies operating from the DWC base.
The airport opened for cargo operations in 2010. There are currently five cargo flight operators at DWC, with plans to introduce a sixth once flights reach 20,000 a year, said Rashed Bu Qara’a, Dubai World Central’s chief operating officer.
Passenger operations at DWC, which is at the heart of Dubai’s ambitions to become a global aviation hub, are set to commence in 2013 but no launch date has been specified.
“We are ready to go at any time. We have tested the terminals and it is now up to the government to decide when to start it,” said Al Zafein.
