Page 290 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/21/24, 10:51 AM Middle East airports expanding in a fast-forward mode to handle zooming passenger numbers
A report has disclosed that the global airport construction market grew to US$1.14 trillion in 2023, and would
reach US$1.8 trillion by 2030.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international travelers continuously for nine years, is
also building up the capacity and facilities to make the hub more impressive. Now serving 250 destinations in
104 countries through 95 airlines, DXB has mega expansion plans that will entail investments of up to US$2. 7
billion. The enhancements in capacity and service levels over the coming 10 years have been necessitated as its
home base carriers ordered another 120 aircraft – 90 Boeing-777s for Emirates and 30 Boeing-787s for flydubai.

Sharjah, home to the Arabian Gulf’s first airport, has started work on an AED1.2 billion (US$327 million)
terminal expansion that will increase the airport’s capacity to 20 million passengers a year. The expansion
project will separate the arrivals from departures areas and enhance its systems and amenities. It is the largest
phase of expansion work being undertaken at a total cost of AED2.4 billion and is expected to be completed in
2027. Improvements will include additional self-check-in kiosks, electronic boarding gates, a spacious waiting
zone, dining facilities, and a transit passenger hotel. Sharjah Airport, home of the MENA region’s largest LCC
Air Arabia, added six new passenger destinations and three air cargo routes in 2023. The airport handled about
13.1 million passengers in 2022 and will be able to handle up to 25 million passengers by 2026.

A plan is underway to transform King Abdelaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Saudi Arabia into one of the
world’s largest airports with an SR115 billion expansion plan that will increase its capacity to 114 million
passengers a year. The largest components of the plan cover the design and expansion of Terminal 1 and the
construction of a new passenger terminal to be called Terminal 2. The expected completion date for the
expansion project is 2031.

A new Hajj and Umrah terminal at the airport in Jeddah will handle 15 million passengers a year and is expected
to be completed by 2025. The airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185
million by 2050. For cargo, the goal is to process 3.5 million tons a year.

Another major airport is planned for Neom, close to the Tabuk end of the 170-kilometre-long Line development.
Neom International Airport’s first phase will have the capacity to handle 25 million passengers a year. A second
phase could take the capacity up to 50 million passengers a year. There is an aspiration for the airport to become
the largest in the world, with a capacity of 100 million passengers a year. Abha International Airport will
undergo a makeover that will see its terminal grow from 113,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet.

The existing airport can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The new one will be capable 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.

https://www.businessnewse.com/2024/02/20/middle-east-airports-expanding-in-a-fast-forward-mode-to-handle-zooming-passenger-numbers/ 3/4