Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has tendered five packages covering substructure works for the first phase of the expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport.

The tender was issued in mid-June and the closing date is 4 August.

The prospective bidders are expected to include:

• Al-Naboodah Construction (UAE)
• Alec (UAE)
• Aviation Industry Corporation of China (China)
• Besix (Belgium)
• China Harbour Engineering Company (China)
• China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (China)
• China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
• Dutco Construction (UAE)
• Innovo (UAE)
• Limak Holding (Turkiye)
• PowerChina (China)
• Tristar E&C (UAE)
• Vinci (France)
• Webuild (Italy)

According to the official description on DAEP’s website, the expanded airport’s West Terminal will be a seven-level, 800,000 square-metre (sq m) facility with an annual capacity of 45 million passengers. It will be the second of three terminals at Al-Maktoum International airport, linking to the airside with a 14-station automated people mover (APM) system.

Earlier this week, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP has asked firms to submit their bids by 15 July to build the APM at Al-Maktoum airport.

The system will run under the apron of the entire airfield and the airport’s terminals. It will consist of multiple tracks, taking passengers from the terminals to the concourses.

Four underground stations will be built as part of the first phase. The overall plan includes 14 stations across the airport.

The airport’s construction is planned to be undertaken in three phases. The airport will cover an area of 70 square kilometres south of Dubai and have five parallel runways, five terminal buildings and 400 aircraft gates.

It will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International airport and have the world’s largest passenger handling capacity of 260 million passengers a year. For cargo, it will have the capacity to handle 12 million tonnes a year.

Construction progress

Construction on the first phase has already begun. In May, DAEP had awarded a AED1bn ($272m) deal to the local firm Binladin Contracting Group to construct the second runway at the airport.

The enabling works on the terminal are also ongoing and are being undertaken by Abu Dhabi-based firm Tristar E&C.

While speaking to the press on the sidelines of the Airport Show in May, Khalifa Al-Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, said that Dubai will award more packages this year, including the automated people mover and baggage handling system.

“Several other packages are expected to be tendered this year, including the terminal substructure, 132kV substations and district cooling plants,” Al-Zaffin added.

The construction works on the project’s first phase are expected to be completed by 2032.

Dubai approved the updated designs and timelines for its largest construction project in April last year.

The government of Dubai said that the plan is for all operations from Dubai International airport to be transferred to Al-Maktoum International airport within 10 years.

The government statement added that the project will create housing demand for 1 million people around the airport.

In September last year, a team comprising Austria’s Coop Himmelb(l)au and Lebanon’s Dar Al-Handasah had been confirmed as the lead master planning and design consultants on the expansion of Dubai’s Al-Maktoum International airport.

Project history

The expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport is a long-standing project. Also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), it was officially launched in 2014, with a different design from the one approved in April 2024. Back then, it involved building the biggest airport in the world by 2050, with the capacity to handle 255 million passengers a year.

An initial phase, due to be completed in 2030, involved increasing the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers a year. The development was to cover an area of 56 square kilometres.

Progress on the project slipped as the region grappled with the impact of lower oil prices and Dubai focused on developing the Expo 2020 site. Tendering for work on the project then stalled with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.