Dubai's new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum airport to get 50 km people mover system

Dubai: A 50-kilometre automated people mover (APM) will be built at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), creating what its developer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) says will be the world’s largest airport APM system.

The system will connect nine stations across the future airport and will comprise 165 automated people-mover vehicles, MHI said in a statement.

MHI, whose previous projects include the construction of the Dubai Metro in 2011, said completion is scheduled for December 2031, ahead of the planned opening of the new airport in 2032.

The system forms part of Dubai’s massive expansion of Al Maktoum International, which is being developed to eventually handle 260 million passengers a year.

Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC), a Dubai government entity, has awarded the contract to MHI as part of a three-company consortium involving MHI Mobility Engineering Services (MHI-MESC) and Indian engineering and construction group Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

MHI and MHI-MESC will lead the design, procurement and testing of the APM vehicles and signalling system, as well as overall system integration. L&T will handle the design, procurement, testing and on-site construction of other subsystems, it said.

MHI said the approximately 50km network will be more than six times the length of the current longest airport APM system, the approximately 8km Skylink at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in the US.

There's also the Plane Train at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the U.S., which is the world’s most heavily traveled, carrying around 91 million passengers annually.

The APM will connect DWC’s terminals and major facilities, providing an internal transport system for passengers moving around the huge airport campus.

MHI said the system is intended to improve passenger convenience, shorten travel times and support efficient airport operations as passenger numbers grow.

That internal connectivity will become increasingly important as DWC expands towards its planned capacity of 260 million passengers annually.

The people mover is being designed as part of a wider effort to make DWC one of the world's largest aviation hubs.

The airport's development is a Dubai government project targeting a 2032 opening, with capacity eventually reaching 260 million passengers a year and further expansion planned over time.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths previously told Gulf News in an interview the airport's second phase would be designed around new technology and an airport experience focused on convenience.

“We have to have the latest technology, the best design, because we are determined to create an airport experience like none other that will be far and away the most advanced and the most friendly and convenient for our customers.”

He said the airport would continue to assess emerging technology as the project develops, allowing newer systems to be incorporated into the final design.

“We will be putting in all sorts of new technology and probably making some of those decisions quite late in the day to allow the latest techniques and developments to be adopted for the longer term.”

The new APM contract gives a clearer picture of one of the major transport systems that will form part of that future airport.

The people mover will operate within DWC, but it is not the same project as the planned rail connections linking the airport with the rest of Dubai.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority is separately progressing plans for an Airport Express Line linking Dubai International Airport (DXB) in Garhoud with Al Maktoum International.

MEED reported last week that six groups had submitted proposals to study and design the 55km Airport Express Line.

The proposed route would connect DXB with DWC via Al-Jaddaf and Al-Khail Road, with a new station at Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC). Two spur lines are also planned, including one towards Al-Fardan Exchange metro station at Emirates Golf Club and another towards Business Bay.

Griffiths previously highlighted three major surface transport developments that he said would be important to DWC's future connectivity.

These include the Etihad Rail high-speed railway, the planned Airport Express and Dubai Metro's Gold Line.

He also welcomed the Airport Express, saying it would connect major population centres in Dubai with DWC through an efficient rail journey.

The Gold Line, meanwhile, would provide another connection between major population centres and DWC, with Griffiths describing it as particularly important for daily commuting.

The combination of the internal APM and the planned external rail links points to a major shift in how passengers will access and move through DWC once the new airport is operational.

Griffiths previously described the airport's role as providing an efficient connection between journeys on the ground and in the air.

“An airport's major role in life is to provide a very effective and efficient interface between journeys on the ground and journeys in the air.”

He added that the planned surface transport developments would help make DWC's connections with Dubai among the world's most efficient.