ME to invest $58 bn in aviation

A report by Centre for Aviation (CAPA) estimates that the total value of 152 active aviation-related projects in the Middle East reached US$57.7 billion. Saudi Arabia accounted for the largest share of
project value, followed by the UAE and Kuwait.

TT Bureau

According to the Centre for Aviation (CAPA), up to US$1.1 trillion is to be spent on airport construction globally. This is broken down by US$255 billion being invested in the new (Greenfield) airport projects around the world and US$845 billion in new runways and terminal buildings. The total value of the global airport construction projects pipeline stands at US$721.7 billion, with the US and China accounting for the largest shares and project pipelines valued at US$90.4 billion and US$76.7 billion respectively. Asia-Pacific has the highest value pipeline at US$291.2 billion, followed by the Middle East and Africa (MEA) with US$163.5 billion. Topping the list is Beijing’s new US$12.6 billion airport, one of the world’s largest when it opens in October 2019 with an eventual capacity of 100 million and seven runways. An international airport under construction in Chengdu boast of six runways and will handle 50 million passengers each year. By 2036, China’s domestic air-travel traffic will quadruple to 1.6 billion passengers.

HE Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA),
said. “Our airlines and airports have been ranking consistently among the best internationally. On compliance level, the UAE ranked as a top member state of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. We hope to accommodate 118 million passengers by 2023 at the Dubai International Airport, and 120 million passengers upon completion of Phase-II of the Dubai World Central, in ultramodern infrastructures that match the best in the world.”

In Saudi Arabia, the new Taif International Airport is expected to open in December 2020. By 2019, Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, plans to increase the total capacity to handle 24 million international passengers yearly. The Sultanate of Oman, which earlier this year opened an US$1.8 billion ‘silent terminal’ with robots directing passengers, hopes it will be among the top 20 airports in the world by 2020.
Three development phases are expected to boost the number of passengers at the airport to 24 million, 36 million and finally 48 million.