Airport News – Dubai Airport embarks on US$7.8 bln expansion plan

Airports Dubai Airport embarks on US$7.8 bln expansion plan Dubai Airports has committed to a US$7.8 billion airport expansion programme that will allow Dubai International to handle 90 million passengers annually by 2018. The expansion plan for the airport, which now has capacity for 60 million passengers a year, is based on ten-year forecasts predicting a surge in traffic for Dubai International and the new Dubai World Central (DWC) airport – which currently only handles freight operations. International passenger numbers and cargo volume are expected to increase at an average annual growth rate of 7.2 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. By 2020, 98.5 million passengers and over 4 million tonnes of freight are expected at the two airports, according to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Airports and president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. “The combination of rallying tourism, Dubai’s proximity to the emerging economies of India and China, and the emirate’s established role as a trading hub, [are] together expected to drive traffic growth and further elevate Dubai’s status as a global centre for aviation,” he says. Expansion on the ground will include a new taxiway and a 60 percent increase in the number of aircraft stands. Concourse 3, which will increase passenger capacity to 75 million, is due for completion at the end of 2012. Beyond that, plans include additional terminal space and concourse areas covering 675,000 square metres. This includes the expansion of Terminal 2 and the construction of a new concourse – Concourse 4 – which will be connected to Terminal 1. Baggage systems across the airport will be upgraded, with the addition of a remote baggage facility and high-speed baggage link. Cargo capacity, meanwhile, will be boosted with a 30,000 square metre expansion of the existing cargo terminal. Dubai Airports Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths says cargo carriers and general aviation will be encouraged to gradually move to DWC to make room for increased passenger traffic at Dubai International. Cargo operations were launched at DWC last year, in the first phase of development of what will be the world’s biggest airport, with five runways capable of handling 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo per annum. Between 2018 and 2023, when construction is completed at Dubai International, phase two construction at DWC will escalate, with initial capacity for 80 million passengers per annum.– Emma Kelly Incheon Airport signs MoU with European airport groups South Korea’s Incheon Airport has signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic co-operation with two of Europe’s leading airport groups, France’s Aeroports de Paris and the Schiphol Group of the Netherlands. The two European airport groups have extensive experience in airport operation and business and the MoU with Incheon is in recognition of the Asian airport’s “know-how that has enabled service innovation”, says the Korean airport operator. The MoU will lay the groundwork for the three groups to share their respective business knowledge and create significant synergies in the future, Incheon says. Over the next two years, the partners aim to build co-operative programmes in the areas of cargo, retail, airport operation and human resource management (HRM). In order to promote innovation, improve services and enhance their status. Part of the plan is for the three airports to become “paperless” freight hubs and increase cargo throughput. “Thanks to the strategic co-operation that will cover a variety of dimensions of airport operation, Incheon Airport will go beyond the world’s best service quality leadership and set new standards for the other airports around the world in cargo, commerce, HRM and other airport operation domains and transform itself into a global leading airport true to its title,” says CW Lee, chief executive officer and president. Incheon is seeking to establish itself as a hub airport for northeast Asia, aiming to handle 62 million passengers a year (up from 44 million today) and increasing annual cargo processing capacity from 4.5 million tonnes to 5.8 million by 2017. Emma Kelly [Briefs] AUSTRALIA’S Melbourne Airport handled more than 28 million passengers in the financial year 2010-11 on the back of strong growth in international traffic. Passenger numbers rose 7.7 percent to 28,190,452, with international traffic up 13.5 percent to 6.3 million and domestic traffic up 6.2 percent to 21.9 million, despite some extreme weather events. The year saw the launch of a number of additional international services, including: Jetstar flights to Singapore, Auckland and Queenstown; additional services by China Southern, China Eastern and Vietnam Airlines; and Virgin Australia flights to Los Angeles, Christchurch, Bali and Fiji. Asia was the key driver of international growth, particularly China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and India. The airport has also welcomed news that China Southern will increase its Guangzhou-Melbourne services to twice-daily from October.