Al Maktoum airport advances towards 2032 opening

Al Maktoum International Airport’s first expansion phase remains scheduled to begin operations in 2032 as Dubai accelerates construction, runway development and the award of major infrastructure contracts.

The project has moved into large-scale construction, with contracts valued at more than AED13 billion under execution and packages worth over AED55 billion expected to be awarded during the next stage. Work completed during the past 15 months has exceeded 10 million labour hours, indicating a sharp increase in activity at the Dubai World Central site.

More than 17,000 concrete piles have been installed, while excavation has surpassed 45 million cubic metres. The project’s core infrastructure programme will require about 4.5 million cubic metres of concrete, underlining the scale of the foundations, terminals, concourses and supporting facilities planned for the airport.

A second runway has been completed, allowing preparations to begin for the rehabilitation of the existing runway. The development will ultimately provide five parallel runways capable of operating independently, a configuration designed to support significantly higher aircraft movements while reducing operational bottlenecks.

The workforce currently stands at about 9,000 and is expected to rise to nearly 120,000 at the peak of construction. The planned increase will make the airport one of the largest active infrastructure worksites in the region and place substantial demand on construction logistics, labour accommodation, transportation and supply chains.

Major packages being prepared include substructure and superstructure works for the Western Passenger Terminal, three aircraft concourses and a fourth concourse building. Contracts are also planned for an automated people mover, baggage-handling systems, building façades, roofing and long-span structural frameworks covering about 1.5 million square metres.

Other tenders will cover infrastructure for the southern airfield, power-generation facilities and district cooling plants. These systems will have to operate at a scale comparable with a large urban district because the airport is being developed as an integrated aviation, logistics and commercial platform rather than as a conventional passenger terminal.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, said the project would strengthen transport and logistics capacity, attract high-value investment and support the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. The programme is intended to expand Dubai’s ability to handle long-term growth in travel, trade and cargo while supporting wider development around Dubai South.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Airports and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, said the airport had entered a large-scale construction phase. He described the project as a strategic investment intended to reinforce Dubai’s position as a global centre for aviation, tourism, logistics and international commerce.

Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects chief executive Suzanne Al Anani said the next round of contract awards would mark a pivotal stage in delivery. The sequence of tenders suggests work is shifting from site preparation, excavation and foundations towards visible terminal structures and complex operational systems.

The airport’s final configuration is designed to handle more than 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. Plans include two passenger terminals, seven concourses and more than 430 aircraft stands, supported by automated internal transport and connections linking air, rail and road networks.

The first phase is expected to provide capacity for about 150 million passengers a year. Operations are planned to transfer gradually from Dubai International Airport as facilities at Al Maktoum become available, avoiding a single large-scale relocation that could disrupt airlines, passengers and baggage networks.

Emirates and flydubai are expected to become the principal carriers at the expanded airport, alongside other airlines serving Dubai. Fleet orders placed by both carriers have increased the urgency of providing additional gates, maintenance capacity, baggage systems and runway access beyond what can be accommodated at Dubai International over the longer term.

The wider programme was approved in 2024 with an estimated investment of AED128 billion. Al Maktoum International will eventually be about five times the size of Dubai International, whose location within the built-up city restricts further runway expansion despite continuing passenger growth.

The airport is also central to Dubai South, where aviation, logistics, residential and commercial districts are being developed around the new hub. Its cargo infrastructure is intended to link aviation services with road networks, seaports and warehousing zones, supporting faster movement of high-value goods and e-commerce shipments.