Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group
Rising Passenger Traffic Fostering Infrastructure Modernization
The aviation industry in the GCC and wider Middle-East region supports USD 130 billion in economic activity, equivalent to 4.4% of the regions gross domestic product (GDP). The GCC region has become a global tourist hub. Tourism contributes about 7% of the regions economy. As per the IATA, in 2019, the Middle East region accounted for around 10% of the global scheduled passenger and freight traffic. To support a rapid increase in passenger movement, the governments of the Gulf nations are investing resources towards enhancing and expanding the current capabilities of the existing aviation infrastructure.
The capacity utilization of the major airports in the region is nearly at their threshold, hence, a potential investment of USD 100 billion is anticipated to make to cope with the YoY passenger growth of around 10%. As of May 2018, there were around 95 ongoing aviation infrastructure construction projects in the region. The total worth of the ongoing projects is estimated at USD 49 billion, wherein, USD 45 billion was directed towards the airport terminal projects and more than USD 3 billion was meant for the construction and development of the hangar, runway, and ancillary facilities.