Page 264 - 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
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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