Expansion of Dubai mega-airport stalls

The expansion of Dubai’s future airport Al Maktoum International to handle 120-million passengers a year by 2025 has been delayed, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The airport, which opened to passenger traffic in 2013, aims to be one of the world’s biggest, but only handles a fraction of Dubai’s passenger traffic.

Five sources told Reuters the expansion had been delayed. They did not say why it was delayed or for how long. Two of the sources said the project was being redesigned.

Dubai secured a $3bn loan in 2017 to develop the airport, which is named after Dubai’s ruling family.

That loan has yet to be used, said one source, and the second stage of financing, which was to be backed by foreign credit agencies, has been delayed indefinitely, added two sources.

State-owned Dubai Airports declined to directly comment when contacted by Reuters.

Dubai’s finance department, which raised the $3bn loan, declined to comment.

The capacity expansion was supposed to pave the way for it to replace Dubai International, the world’s busiest for international travellers, and to become the new home of Emirates.

Al Maktoum International has already faced delays. A smaller project is a year behind schedule and is expected to be finished in 2018.

Dubai expects to spend about $36bn on the Al Maktoum International project and the Dubai World Central aviation complex where it is located. The airport is being built in phases and is expected to one day be able to handle more than 200-million passengers a year, more than twice the current capacity of primary airport Dubai International where Emirates is based.

Dubai Airports said in 2016 it was expanding Dubai International to handle 118-million passengers a year by 2023.

This was 18-million more than its initial cap in case the development of Al Maktoum International became delayed.