Dubai Airport Plans Major Cargo Expansion

Dubai International Airport has announced a major modernisation and expansion programme for its cargo facilities as part of its $7.8 billion Strategic Plan 2020.

The new programme will increase Dubai International’s freight capacity to 3.1 million tonnes by 2018, Dubai Airports said in a statement.

Construction is set to begin over the next few months on a 30,000 square metre addition to the airport’s 1.2 million tonne Cargo Mega Terminal (CMT), which will hike capacity by 25 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes a year.

The airport’s original cargo facilities, Hall A and Freight Gate 1, located next to the CMT, will also undergo a refurbishment.

All these facilities will be dedicated for the sole use of Emirates airline, the statement added.

A new transhipment facility with capacity for 400,000 tonnes of freight a year is also under construction.

Once complete, it will handle about 60 per cent of cargo transferred between Dubai International and Dubai World Central, Dubai’s second airport. The new facility will come up on the former site of the Airport Expo building that was partially demolished earlier this year.

“The new infrastructure responds to growing volumes of freight being transported through Dubai,” the statement said.

Total annual cargo volumes across both airports are projected to increase from the 2.19 million tonnes recorded last year to 4.1 million tonnes by 2020.

Jeff Gould, VP Development at Dubai Airports said: “Construction of the new facilities at Dubai International will take place in several stages to ensure the day-to-day working of the airport is not disrupted.”

“The continued growth in cargo volumes as well as the size of the airport meant that cargo facilities could no longer be clustered into one area,” added Chris Garton, SVP, Operations at Dubai Airports.

“The new infrastructure will not only increase our capacity but go a long way to simplifying what has become an increasing complex cargo operation as the airport has grown.”