According to the Handelsblatt, Dubai's brand new airport will open for business in June 2010. It will boast five runways and a passenger capacity of 160 m passengers.
For comparison: The world's biggest airport is currently Atlanta with roughly 90 m passengers. Dubai's old airport handled 37.4 m passengers in 2008.
Oh, and they don't want to shut the old airport down. No, they are expanding that one as well to a capacity of 80 m passengers by 2013. So Dubai's two airports will then be able to handle 240 m passengers.
I don't doubt that the Middle East has growth potential. The demographics support it, and the oil reserves also support it. And even now, in spite of Dubai's current crisis, passenger throughput doesn't decline: It rose 2 % yoy in Q1 2009.
But come on: Growth from 37 m passengers in 2008 to 240 m passengers in 5-10 years?
For once, China's plans seem downright modest in comparison.
IMHO, it's madness, pure and simple.
By the way, the investment volumes are quoted as 32 bn US$ for the new airport, and 4.2 bn US$ for expansion of the old airport.
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Shaun Rein on the TSM
vor 1 Jahr
Why are you complaining? Finally an airport without queues. No waiting at the security check. Immediate service at the passport control... sound's wonderful to me... :-)
AntwortenLöschenI don't like Dubai. Too fake.
AntwortenLöschenDubai proves the proverb that one must not build on sand. The palm suffers from a lack of circulation of sea water, turning the inner leaves into a stinky plot of real estate where any plant growth can only be kept alive by wasting gigantic amounts of fresh water. Dubai's building mania will be seen for what they are in a decade: gigantomanis in a desert that's too hot to live in. The palm and the world will be the property crisis for the rich like David Beckham et al.
AntwortenLöschenI can understand why rich Iranians and Saudis want a second home in a place that's less restrictive than their home countries. But for everybody else, Spain and Florida seem much more obvious choices...
AntwortenLöschenDubai's passenger numbers were up sharply in May:
AntwortenLöschenhttp://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=102973