Page 12 - DAEP PR REPORT - JANUARY 2025

1/16/25, 4:30 PM Airport Show-2025 to showcase best-in-class technology
turnovers as the region is projected to see 300 percent increase to 1.1 billion air passengers by 2040
when its airports will be needing US$151 billion investments for their capacity expansion. By 2029, the
Middle East aviation market size is projected to reach the US$33.70 billion mark. By 2042, the global
passenger traffic will reach nearly 20 billion.

That year, 45 percent of all passengers are projected to come from the international segment, and 46
percent by 2052, according to the ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts. Air passenger traffic in the Africa
region is likely to reach 261 million in 2025, and it will double by 2040. The global airports body says
Africa’s needs exceed US$32 billion with the pace of needed new greenfield airport investment

representing nearly 40 percent of this.

The regional airport upgradation, expansion, and new developments will be under the spotlight for three
days at the Airport Show to be held from May 6 to 8 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), offering
unparalleled networking and business opportunities for the industry players.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai

Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline
and Group, the B2B platform, the largest in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region, will facilitate
global companies to showcase again cutting-edge technologies and innovations designed to better
airport operations and safety enhancement, improve passenger experiences and sustainability, and

widen automation.

The annual multi-event airport industry platform is being supported among others by the Dubai Civil
Aviation Authority, Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, Emirates Airlines, Dubai Air
Navigation Services, and dnata.

London-based analytics company Global Data that tracks airport construction projects says 48 airport

renovation, expansion, and new projects were already underway in the Arabian Gulf region, worth
US$182.6 billion.

Two massive airport developments are taking place in Dubai and Saudi Arabia that will boast the airport
capacities of a whopping 260 million passengers and 185 million passengers per year, respectively.

Dubai has started constructing the world’s largest airport terminal, which will cost US$35 billion, with 400
gates and five parallel runways.

As it targets 300 million passengers by 2030, Saudi Arabia is also constructing the US$50-billion mega
hub in Riyadh, King Salman International Airport, which it also wants to ultimately become the world’s
largest airport for passenger capacity upon its completion in 2030. These two giant projects take up

almost 80 percent of spending on airport development across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Saudi Arabia leads the Middle East Airport construction sector with US$7.5 billion in active projects as of
2023. Kuwait follows with US$4.5 billion in active airport projects, with Iraq in third place.

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