Aviation services firm dnata, owned by the Emirates Group, will begin construction on a massive new cargo terminal at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) in the second quarter of 2015, according to a report from Gulf News.
In the report, dnata UAE Airport Operations Senior Vice President Jon Conway was quoted as saying that the terminal is currently in the final design stage and will initially have a capacity to handle 500,000 tonnes of cargo annually when it opens later in 2015.
Once it becomes fully operational by the end of 2016, the terminal’s capacity will rise to between 1 million and 1.6 million tonnes per year, handling cargo from various airlines landing at DWC.
No details were given about the cost of the new DWC terminal, but Conway did tell Gulf News that dnata will be investing about US$5.4 million to provide new ground support equipment and lounge development for the new Concourse D at the nearby Dubai International Airport (DXB) a few miles down the road.
Last month, Dubai Airports announced a major US$32 billion expansion of the bustling DWC that will be under construction for the next six to eight years.