Dubai airports will invest $5.9b by 2020 *

---

DUBAI, June 3 (Arabian Business): Dubai Airports will invest AED22 billion ($5.98 billion) towards the expansion of Dubai and Al Maktoum International Airports by 2020, a senior official has said. Speaking on the sidelines of the Airport Show 2011, Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai World Central, said the expansion plans will increase the capacity of the Dubai International Airport to 90 million passengers annually. The number will increase from the current 60 million upon the completion of plans to build Concourse 4 and the expansion of Terminal 2. Zaffin also said that AED4 billion will be invested in the development of the aviation city and the residential city at Al Maktoum Airport at the Dubai World Central. Dubai Airports forecast earlier this month that international passenger traffic would grow 7.2 per cent on average over the next 10 years. It also projected passenger numbers will reach 98.5 million by 2020 while cargo volumes are expected to top 4.1 million tonnes. In March, Dubai Airports said the opening of the passenger terminal at the new Al Maktoum airport, estimated to cost around $34 billion, would be further delayed till next year. Separately at the Airport Show, Mohamed Ahmed Abed, director general of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia, said AED27 billion would be spent on new airport developments. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has also announced a 10-year development plan worth AED2.5 billion, while Fujairah International Airport said it has allocated AED50m towards the expansion and development of the airport this year. It is expected that an additional AED100 million would be allocated for further expansion in 2012, said Dr Khalid Al-Mazrui, the airport's director general. Fujairah International Airport also announced the selection of ALES for the supply of Air Traffic Control System and ERA for the Wide Area Multilateration radar as part of a AED10 million deal. Airport Show 2011 focused on the huge investments involved in the building of new airports and the expansion of existing airports in the region, which is expected to be worth $90 billion in the next few years.