Dubai World Central Aerotropolis

Overview:

Located approximately 60 km south of Dubai International Airport, a US$33-billion commitment was made to construct the world's largest airport that would serve as the center of the world's first purposely planned Aerotropolis. The airport was initially designed with six runways capable of handling 160 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo annually.

Work involved addressing optimal commercial land uses at Dubai World Central; improved multimodal logistics infrastructure strategies; electronic data interchange (EDI) needs to trace, track, and control cargo shipments; pathways to developing a global logistics hub at and around the new airport; and strategies to accelerate commercial real estate absorption at Dubai World Central. Special attention was given to the Dubai Logistics City, which was proposed as the initial driver of the Aerotropolis.

A follow-on project to enhance the development of the aviation sector in the Emirate included 

1) optimizing airspace management at Dubai's airports; 

2) transitioning air traffic from Dubai International Airport to the new airport beginning with air cargo; 

3) creating more seamless multimodal connectivity to realize Dubai’s full potential as cargo, trade, and tourism hub, and 

4) establishing a process for continuous improvement to ensure that infrastructure at Dubai World Central and in Dubai is the best available to most long-term needs of Dubai's aviation-dependent commercial sectors.