Page 261 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/21/24, 10:49 AM Middle East airports expanding in a fast-forward mode to handle zooming passenger numbers : GoDubai.com
of handling 13 million by the time the first phase of the development is completed in 2028.
The expansion will include the construction of passenger jetways, self-service facilities for
passenger check-in and baggage handling, and high-capacity parking facilities. Saudi Arabia
is building in Riyadh one of the world's largest airports which will have six parallel runways.
The airport will help drive annual passenger traffic to 120 million by 2030 and 185 million by
2050.
Airports in Oman are expected to witness 40 million passengers by 2030. The Sultanate
currently attracts 18 million passengers. The country currently can handle around 24 million
passengers. Officials opened new airports in Muscat and Duqm in 2019 in addition to two new
air cargo terminals. Musandam Airport is being constructed for US$250 million and is
expected to be ready by Q4 2026. The work includes the construction of two runways and a
passenger terminal with a capacity of 250,000 passengers per year.
Lebanon has on anvil plans to construct a US$122 million terminal at Beirut's Rafik Hariri
International Airport to be completed in four years. The new terminal will help it handle 3.5
million passengers annually when operations are planned to begin in 2027. The airport
currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20 million in 2030.
Bahrain is exploring plans to have a second airport by 2034. It has undergone expansion as
part of the US$13 billion investment into its tourism industry. The new passenger terminal
building at Bahrain International Airport doubled its capacity. The new greenfield airport will
eventually replace the existing Bahrain International Airport (BIA) due to the inadequacy of its
current infrastructure in meeting the kingdom's growing airport needs.
Kuwait has plans to expand its airport terminal capacity from six million passengers per year
to 20 million by 2030 and turn Kuwait International Airport into a major passenger and cargo
hub. The new passenger terminal (T2) was one of the projects aimed at modernizing its
infrastructure to serve Vision 2035. The US$4.36 billion Kuwait Airport's Passenger Terminal-2
expansion will boost its annual passenger handling capacity to 13 million passengers per year
by 2025.
Egypt is working at expanding and bettering aviation facilities keeping in view the plans to
receive up to 30 million visitors by 2028. The UAE's aviation is set to witness growth as the
UAE Tourism Strategy aims to host 40 million visitors by 2031. The first phase of Navi
Mumbai International Airport is expected to be completed by December 2024. By 2032, Navi
Mumbai Airport would also have the capacity to handle 2.5 million tons of cargo. The US$3.8
billion Noida International Airport is set to open by September 2025.
Maldives is working to develop airports in its six islands as its new government works on a
policy to have an airport within 30 minutes of every residential island. Its capital city, Male,
will have a new terminal by 2025. China aims to construct 216 new airports by 2035 to meet
the growing demands for air travel.
A report by Statista said Asia-Pacific had been the region with the highest number of airport
infrastructure projects under construction, with over half of the new airport construction taking
place in this region. It also had the lead for construction projects in existing airports. When
considering the value of airport construction projects worldwide, Asia-Pacific was also at the
top of the ranking.
“Airports will be core drivers of (aviation) industry-wide change, while themselves being
transformed in the process,” remarked a study on the ‘Evolution of Airports – Travel Trends in
The Next 30 Years' published by Oliver Wyman, a global consultancy, Airports Council
International (ACI) World, and the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC).

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