New cargo terminal at DWC begins construction
Terminal could have a total annual capacity of 1.6 million tonnes, senior VP of UAE Airport Operations at Dnata says
Dnata says the initial proposed capacity of the cargo terminal at DWC will be 500,000 tonnes a year.
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Dnata will start construction on a new cargo terminal at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) in the second quarter of 2015, the senior vice president of UAE Airport Operations has said.
Speaking to Gulf News, Jon Conway said that the terminal was in the final design stage and would have a total annual capacity of up to 1.6 million tonnes. The initial proposed capacity is 500,000 tonnes a year, he added.
Although he declined to state the total investment into the project due to it not being out to tender yet, Conway confirmed that completion of the modular designed terminal is expected by the end of 2016.
He added that Dnata would be spending $5.4 million on ground support equipment and lounge development for Dubai International’s Concourse D, which is scheduled to open next year and take the airport’s annual capacity from 75 million passengers to 90 million.
The new terminal will be used to handle cargo from airlines landing at DWC. Construction work on the new terminal comes after the opening of a dedicated terminal earlier this year for Emirates SkyCargo operations.
Located in the south of Dubai, the Emirates’ DWC terminal is able to handle 700,000 tonnes of capacity per year. It has the potential to expand up to one million tonnes of annual capacity.
In September 2014, Dubai Airports announced a $32 billion expansion of DWC, which is due to be completed within six to eight years. Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports chief executive, has previous said that construction of that project would need to start before the end of 2014.
