Dubai Airports' $7.8 billion airport and airspace expansion program will boost capacity at Dubai International from 60 to 90 million passengers per year by 2018.

The company announced that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, has endorsed the expansion plan.

The plan, which was presented to Sheikh Mohammed at a high-level meeting held at Dubai International earlier this week, is designed to deliver aviation infrastructure which will support the continuation of the sector’s impressive growth, facilitate Dubai’s economic expansion and generate 22% of total employment and 32% of the emirate’s GDP by 2020, it said.

The plan responds to a 10-year traffic forecast for Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) that projects international passenger and cargo traffic will increase at an average annual growth rate of 7.2% and 6.7% respectively.  

“The combination of rallying tourism, Dubai’s proximity to the emerging economies of India and China, and the emirates’ established role as a trading hub, is together expected to drive traffic growth and further elevate Dubai’s status as a global centre for aviation,” said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.

“By 2020, 98.5 million passengers and over 4 million tonnes of air freight will pass through our airports. The fleets and networks of Emirates and flydubai will grow considerably to accommodate traffic and capture market share. Similarly, our infrastructure must expand to enable this growth and facilitate the trade, tourism and commerce that in turn will support the prosperity of Dubai.”

The strategy includes aggressive expansion plans for airspace, airfield, aircraft stands and terminal areas at Dubai International over the remainder of the decade which will optimize investment, deliver timely capacity and create a robust revenue stream, fuelled by increased commercial and retail income, which will fund the development of Dubai World Central in the long term.   

Airspace expansion plans focus on optimizing runway capacity and implementing efficient systems and processes in order to accommodate and manage additional aircraft movements.  Beyond the vicinity of the airport itself, Dubai Airports is engaging national and regional civil aviation authorities and air navigation service providers to ensure that air routes are decongested, bottlenecks are reduced and latent airspace capacity is unlocked, Sheikh Ahmed said.