in the race to build the world's largest airport Dubai is about to leave everyone in the dust five runways 400 Gates 260 million passengers one audacious Vision this is almcom International Airport Dubai's $35 billion bet on the future of global Aviation Dubai is known for its iconic skyscrapers luxurious hotels and man-made Islands but the city's Ambitions extend far beyond these from its modest Beginnings in the early 19th century to its rise as a key trade Hub in the 20th century Dubai's history is a fascinating tale of vision and determination but it was the discovery of
oil in 1966 that truly propelled Dubai onto the world stage the wise reinvestment of oil revenues into infrastructure and development laid the foundation for the city's meteoric rise in the late 20th century Dubai's leaders made a strategic decision to diversify the economy focusing on trade tourism and finance this set the stage for an era of unprecedented growth and audacious projects and this project is no exception imagine an airport five times the size of Dubai International Airport handling over a qu billion passengers annually welcome to the future of Aviation the alako International Airport also known as
Dubai World Central or dwc this Mega project is set to revolutionize not just air travel but also Dubai's economy with a total investment of 128 billion durhams or about $35 billion once fully operational it will boast an annual capacity of 260 million passengers dwarfing Dubai's already impressive International Airport to put that into perspective that's more than the entire population of Indonesia the world's fourth most populous country passing through a single airport in a year but why does Dubai need such a massive airport well it's all part of the Emirates Vision to cement its position as
a global Aviation Hub and drive economic growth the existing Dubai International Airport while impressive in its own right is bursting at the seams in 2019 before the pandemic hit it handled nearly 86.4 million passengers that's a lot but it's nowhere near enough for Dubai's ambitious plans but before we dive into the details don't forget to hit that subscribe button stay tuned for more exciting content just like this now let's zoom in on what makes this airport truly extraordinary spanning 70 square km 27 square miles the almcom international airport is practically a city in itself to
give give you an idea of its scale it's about the size of Chicago O'Hare Dallas Fort Worth and Los Angeles international airports combined but size isn't everything let's break down some of the key features one of the standout features is the fact that it will have five parallel runways that can operate independently this is a big deal when it comes to managing air traffic as it allows for a much higher volume of flights to take off and land simultaneously to accommodate all those passengers the airport will have 400 gates for aircrafts the passenger terminals will
be divided into two main sections West and East and will be connected by an automated people mover system this will make getting around the airport a breeze even though it's going to be absolutely massive in addition to the passenger capacity the airport will also have an impressive cargo capacity of 12 million tons per year that's a lot of goods moving through one airport but here's where it gets really interesting the alma tum International Airport isn't just an airport it's the centerpiece of a whole new city Dubai South as it's called is planned to house up
to a million people and create hundreds of thousands of jobs of course building an airport of this size is no easy feat which is why the project is being tackled in phases the first phase which is set to be completed by 2030 will focus on getting the passenger capacity up to 150 million per year that's already more than the busiest airport in the world today which is Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the US a major part of this first phase is building Concourse one which is going to be a massive undertaking in itself in
fact Concourse 1 alone will be the same size as all three concourses at the current Dubai International Airport put together that's like building an entire airport within an airport Phase 2 we'll see the construction of Concourse 2 which will be identical to Concourse course one this will essentially double the capacity of the airport and allow for even more passengers to pass through finally in the last phase they'll build concourses 3 and four the East terminal and Rail and Metro connections by the end of all these phases Dubai will have an airport that can handle a
staggering number of passengers and cargo every single year the plan is to transfer all operations from the current Dubai International Airport to WC within 10 years of the first phase completion that's a massive undertaking but if any City can pull it off it's Dubai now you might be wondering why Dubai is taking on such a massive project well there are a few key reasons first and foremost it's about maintaining Dubai's position as a key transportation and Logistics Hub in the region with other countries in the area like Saudi Arabia also investing heavily in their airports
and infrastructure Dubai wants to make sure it stays ahead of the game the airport is also a crucial part of Dubai's long-term economic strategy known as the d33 agenda this agenda aims to double the city's economy by 2033 and the airport is expected to play a big role in that in fact it's estimated that the airport will create housing demand for about a million people in the surrounding area which just goes to show how much of an impact it will have on the city's growth and development it is set to be a major economic engine
for Dubai and the UAE as a whole as part of the transition from Dubai current International Airport to dwc two of Dubai's major airlines Emirates and fly Dubai are set to move their operations to the new airport by 2034 Dubai is already a major tourist destination attracting m millions of visitors each year but with this new airport those numbers are expected to Skyrocket The increased passenger capacity means more tourists can visit Dubai Dubai has also been making a big push into medical tourism in recent years the new airport is expected to give this sector a
major boost and of course with more tourists comes the need for more hotels and tourism related businesses we're likely to see a boom in hotel construction in the areas surrounding the new airport report now let's be real for a moment a project of this scale doesn't come without its challenges one of the biggest hurdles will be managing the transition from Dubai International Airport to dwc we're talking about moving millions of passengers thousands of staff and hundreds of Airlines from one airport to another it's a logistical challenge of Epic Proportions then there's the question of infrastructure
an airport this size needs robust Transportation l utilities and services ensuring all of this is in place and functioning smoothly is a massive undertaking of course Dubai isn't the only player in the region with big Aviation Ambitions Saudi Arabia for instance is planning its own Mega airport the king Salman international airport but Dubai's project is on a different scale all together while other airports in the region are aiming to handle 80 to 120 million passengers and annually dwc is shooting for more than double that this isn't just about bragging rights it's about positioning Dubai as
the premere aviation Hub not just in the Middle East but globally and with its strategic location between East and West Dubai is well positioned to do just that as the project progresses over the coming years it will be fascinating to see how it shapes Dubai's future will it succeed in its ambitious goals will it set new standards for what an airport can be and who knows maybe one day we'll all have the chance to pass through the world's largest airport and experience it for ourselves so what do you think is it a Visionary project that
will transform Dubai or an overambitious gamble we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below and that's all for today's episode if you're excited to learn more about the mega projects shaping our world don't forget to check out our previous videos as always thank you so much for watching see you in the next video
