Dubai has claimed the latest tender for its new airport at Al Maktoum is “the biggest ever” of its kind.
Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) launched the tender process on 18 October for the first stage of building work at Al Maktoum International Airport, which it says will be the world’s largest airport when complete.
The value of the contract was not released, however the Dubai government said in 2016 the total cost of building the airport would be US$36bn.
The tender package is for the airport substructures and includes construction of the foundations for one of the terminals and 1.7m sq metres of basement space for technical facilities, including baggage handling.
DAEP said it plans to award the contract by early next year.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of DAEP, said the contract was on “an unprecedented scale. Maybe the biggest ever released in its category”.
He added: “More is yet to come and everyone is looking forward to a busy 2019.”
Al Maktoum Airport is expected to have the capacity to handle 130m passengers a year when it opens in 2030, and this would eventually increase to 260m annually, DAEP said. By comparison the world’s current busiest airport, Hartsfield–Jackson International in Atlanta, USA, saw 103m passengers pass through its doors in 2017.
Construction on the Al Maktoum site began in July 2016.
☛ Want to stay up to date with the news? Sign up to our daily bulletin.