Dubai Is Pouring USD 14.8 Billion Into Al Maktoum Airport
The airport is being transformed into the world’s biggest, with room for 260 million passengers a year, five runways and 400 aircraft gates.
Al Maktoum International has spent years living somewhat in the shadow of its famous older sibling, Dubai International Airport (DXB), but that is about to change as Dubai Airports prepares to tender USD 14.8 billion (AED 55 billion) worth of construction contracts by the end of 2026, accelerating the transformation of Al Maktoum into the world’s biggest airport.
Once complete, Al Maktoum it will have capacity to handle up to 260 million passengers a year, five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates. And the scale is already visible on the ground. Over the past 15 months alone, 10 million hours of work have been committed to the project, 17,000 piles have been driven into the site and 45 million cubic metres of earth have been moved. The reason for the rush is simple: DXB is running out of room.
By 2032, Dubai’s iconic airport, with its sprawling concourses, famously busy terminals and seemingly endless stream of arrivals and departures, is expected to reach capacity, leaving the emirate with a choice between putting a ceiling on its extraordinary passenger growth or building something big enough to keep up with it. Naturally, Dubai has opted for the latter.
