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UAE Yearbook 2010
accounting for an estimated 25 per cent of the emirate s gdp, dubai international airport posted strong results in 2009 despite a global slowdown in air travel. the airport broke the 40-million passenger mark, a 9.2 per cent increase on 2008, making dubai the sixth largest international airport by throughput and one of the few among the top 20 largest airports to register positive growth. in 2010, the airport is projecting a 13.4 per cent rise in traffic volumes. a number of infrastructure projects will see the airport continue to expand its capacity to stay one step ahead of growth. in 2008, dubai airports opened the dh16.5 billion terminal 3, dedicated to emirates airline, which is the single largest building in the world by floor space, and added another 1.5 square kilometres to the area of the airport s structures. a third concourse designed to handle emirate s a380 superjumbo fleet is being built at a cost of dh4 billion. the facility is scheduled to open in late 2011 and will push capacity to 75 million travellers a year. planners have also indicated that airport processes and procedures will be improved to expand the capacity of dubai international up to 90 million passengers a year by the end of the next decade. some options include an upgrade of its three terminals, and the introduction of a fourth terminal. the focus on boosting capacity at dubai international is taking place in tandem with a gradual transfer of airlines over the next decade to the dh30.11 billion al maktoum international airport in jebel ali. although limited services are set to open in mid-2010 for phase one, with a capacity of 5 million passengers a year, completion of the new airport envisages a capacity of up to 160 million travellers a year and five runways, which would make it the largest airport in the world. jebel ali port, the biggest in the middle east, and the busiest container terminal between asia and europe, has also seen a number of new improvements after becoming a victim of its own success, with heavy queues and long wait times for vessels recorded in late 2008. the operator, dp world, responded by bringing in new giant tandem lift gantry cranes, the largest in the world and offering twice the handling capacity of traditional cranes. rail-mounted gantry cranes were also introduced as part of the second phase of jebel ali s container terminal 2, which now boasts 29 tandem lift cranes and 60 rail-mounted gantry cranes. the port also expanded its workforce and trained new staff. with the new equipment, capacity at jebel ali now stands at 14 million teus (twenty foot containers or equivalent units) per year. as it foresees continued growth, dp world has outlined expansive plans to expand its capacity to up to 80 million teus by 2030, by extending the port out to a reclaimed island. 109 > infrastructure
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