Airport Show to showcase airport expansion plans in Middle East

Abu Dhabi International Airport is set to reach 40 million passengers by 2017 with the new $6.8 billion Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) project.
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The 700,000 square metre terminal building is one of the key strategic infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the UAE capital, and will initially handle 27 million passengers per year and will be 70 per cent complete by the end of this year.

The new terminal is a part of Abu Dhabi’s broader plans to increase tourist traffic as part of the Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy.

Sharjah International Airport plans to handle 25 million passengers per annum by the year 2025, in line with the expansion of the aviation sector.

Ajman is undertaking a AED2.1 billion ($571 million) new Ajman International Airport project, expected to handle around one million passengers a year when it is eventually completed

King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) started its three-stage development with a budget of over US$1.5 billion, with the goal of catering to over 30 million passengers. The first phase, includes a 400,000 sqm terminal complex tower, control tower, access roads and utilities, is scheduled for delivery in 2017. Phase 2 and 3 will take the airport through to 2035 when it will cater to 85 million people.

The airport expansion will help the Kingdom increase its passengers from 28 million to 45 million by 2020, a goal that has been set by the GACA's operational plan.

Kuwait awarded a contract worth $4.8 billion to a local company for the expansion of the country's only international airport. The involves a new terminal and a runway in addition to around 30 gates to boost the facility's capacity from the current seven million passengers to 13 million in 2016. The airport's capacity is slated to increase to 25 million passengers by 2025.

Bahrain has undertaken a $1 billion expansion project to boost capacity of the Bahrain International Airport to 13.5 million passengers a year.

Daniyal Qureshi, director of Airport Show, said: “Airport expansion and modernisation is an ongoing process in almost every part of the world, especially the Middle East, which is expected to welcome almost double the number of passengers in two decades as compared to today. Authorities in the region appreciate the need for constant investment in their airports and we are pleased to provide a platform where they can see the best and latest the global industry has to offer.”