Major groundwork for the 128 billion UAE dirhams ($34.85 billion) new passenger terminal at the Al Maktoum International Airport will commence in the coming weeks, a top Emirates official said.

Work is expected to commence in the next two to three weeks, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Emirates President Tim Clark. 

In April, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved designs for the new passenger terminal, which will be the largest in the world when fully operational.  

The world’s largest airport will cover an area of 70 square kilometres and have a capacity of over 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

The first phase, designed to cater to 150 million passengers annually, is likely to be ready within a span of 10 years, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, said.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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