The ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, recently approved the designs for the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport. The new terminal is planned to be the world’s largest when fully operational, with a passenger capacity of 260 million annually. The project covers 70 square kilometers and is estimated to cost over $34.8 billion.
The Al Maktoum airport will be located at the southern end of the United Arab Emirate’s commercial capital, Dubai South. The property and logistics developments on the site are already underway. An entire city is planned to be built around the new airport, with the aim of creating housing for a million people. On the new city plan around the new airport, Sheikh Maktoum said: “will host the world’s leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors,” and continued, “We are building a new project for future generations, ensuring continuous and stable development for our children and their children in turn. Dubai will be the world’s airport, port, urban hub, and new global center.”
The renderings of the Maktoum Airport, shared by the Dubai Media Office, showcase the futuristic appearance of the expansive infrastructure with large terminals and space-age-looking designs. The project is planned in a vision to represent a leap into the future. Designs show that it will feature five parallel runways with a quadruple independent operation, west and east processing terminals, four satellite concourses with over 400 aircraft contact stands, an uninterrupted automated people mover system for passengers, and an integrated landside transport hub for roads, a Metro, and city air transport.
Al Maktoum International is committed to embracing sustainability and aims to reduce environmental emissions in line with the UAE’s vision for a sustainable built environment. Its integrated approach is designed to make use of local resources and climatic conditions to achieve sustainability goals. Al Maktoum International aims to achieve a LEED Gold Certification.
The project’s first phase is expected to be ready within 10 years, with a capacity to accommodate 150 million passengers annually.
