New airports under construction with amazing designs, facilities and technology

The total value of the global airport construction projects pipeline stands at US$721.7 billion, with the US and China accounting for the largest shares, with project pipelines valued at US$90.4 billion and US$76.7 billion, respectively. Asia-Pacific has the highest value pipeline, at US$291.2 billion, followed by the Middle East and Africa (MEA) with US$163.5 billion. 

A report says the total value of 152 active aviation-related projects in the Middle East reached US$57.7 billion. Saudi Arabia accounted for the largest share of project value, followed by the UAE and Kuwait.  According to the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) data, up to US$1.1 trillion is to be spent on airport construction globally – this is broken down by US$255 billion being invested in new (Greenfield) airport projects around the world and US$845 billion in projects such as new runways and terminal buildings, runway and terminal extensions.

In the Arab world, Tunisia will build a new airport that meets international standards by 2030. With an estimated cost of US$840 million, the new civilian airport will be the 10^th in the North African country.  Egypt is spending US$18.5 billion through building three new airports, including the New Administrative Capital Airport which is expected to be completed in 2019.  The Sphinx International Airport is slated to open in summer 2018.

In Saudi Arabia, the new Taif International Airport is expected to open in December 2020. The biggest Arabian Gulf state has 27 airports and the government plans the development of four new airports. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, by 2019, plans to increase the total capacity to handle 24 million international passengers yearly. Sultanate of Oman, which earlier this year opened an US$1.8 billion ‘silent terminal’ with robots directing passengers, hopes it will be among the top 20 airports in the world by 2020. Three development phases are expected to boost the number of passengers at the airport to 24 million, 36 million and finally 48 million.  Three regional airports are also under development in Ad Duqm, Sohar and Ras Al Hadd.

Bahrain is building its second international airport on an artificial island at a cost of US$1.1 billion, with the project’s first phase expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019. The terminal will quadruple the capacity from four million passengers per year to 14 million. Kuwait is constructing a new US$4.3 billion airport terminal to handle 25 million passengers per year. Spread across 708,000 square meters, it will be able to accommodate all aircraft types, with the ability to serve 21 A380s. According to forecasts, passenger traffic is expected to exceed 23 million in 2027. Terminal 4 and the Al-Jazeera passenger terminal are expected to be completed by mid- 2018, while the new Kuwait International Airport will be ready by 2020.

Construction of airport-related projects in the UAE are progressing at a brisk pace. Fujairah International Airport is undergoing a US$180 million expansion programme. Sharjah International Airport will also be put through a US$410 million revamp programme to help it serve increased passenger traffic.  It plans the construction of new terminal in 2019, with first phase to open in 2021 in a move that will increase the airport’s capacity to 25 million passengers. The full project is expected to be ready by 2025. It is part of an AED1.5 billion expansion plan.

Abu Dhabi is constructing a mega midfield terminal costing AED10 billion to handle up to 84 million passengers per year when it opens in late 2019. Dubai is going ahead to complete its second airport which will be the world’s largest global gateway with capacity for more than 160 million passengers per year.

Part of the 140 square kilometre site, it will also serve as a multi-modal logistics hub for 12 million tonnes of freight. Dubai had secured US$3 billion in long-term financing for the expansion of its airports, which are forecast to serve 146.3 million passengers by 2025.

The New Istanbul Airport - the biggest infrastructure project in the history of Turkey at US$10 billion – is to become a reality this year. Istanbul’s third airport will initially have two runways, expanding to six by 2028.  At 67.6 million square metres, the airport would be the largest by size in the world is targeting capacity of 90 million passengers per year.  

New Jeddah airport