His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Biin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, and Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation, today signed a contracting agreement with Al Jaber LEGT Engineering and Contracting LLC [ALEC], paving the way for the Passenger Terminal Building expansion at Al Maktoum International Airport.

Under the agreement, the first phase of this project, which increases the built up area of the Passenger Terminal Building from the existing 66,107 sq. m. to 145,926 sq. m, will be completed by June 2017. It is expected that following additional planned extensions, the airport will handle up to 26.5 million passengers per year by 2025.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said: “Today’s announcement marks a historic milestone in the journey of Al Maktoum International which is set to become the world’s largest airport. We are guided by the vision of our leader, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as the aviation capital of the world. We are poised to significantly boost Dubai’s economy by creating a world-class facility capable of handling the growing number of passengers visiting and transiting our city.”

Al Maktoum International Airport will ultimately have the capacity to handle over 220 million passengers per year.

Sheikh Ahmed added: “Al Maktoum International is being designed to become an airport of the future. We are building a range of amenities and facilities that will increase capacity and significantly enrich the airport experience, making it an attractive proposition for airlines as well as passengers.”

As part of the proposed expansion work of the passenger terminal, the arrival building, which houses the public hall for arrivals, the baggage claim area and related services, as well as the arrival Baggage Handling System, will feature a new immigration hall for 55 control counters, visa and passenger utilities.

The departure building will see the expansion of the public hall, commercial areas and offices as well as the check-in hall which will house 64 check-in counters. An additional 10 counters will be specifically dedicated to business check-in.

Expansions will also include 12 new boarding lounges and the extension of the emigration transfer and security area. A new baggage screening area for arrivals will be added while the current baggage reclaim area will see three new carrousels.