The tiny Emirate of Dubai in the UAE will have its second airport in future. An ambitious project has been relaunched to develop a second airport, which is billed as being the largest in the world so far. The new airport is expected to handle some 120 million passengers annually.

Media reports said that a strategy has been prepared to expand the Al-Maktoum International Airport within a period of 8 years. The move is aimed at shifting the increased operations of Emirates Airlines from the Dubai International Airport.

Media reports quoted Paul Griffiths, Spokesman of Dubai International Airport, as saying that the first phase of second airport’s development has already been launched. During this phase, the entire focus will be on building a facility for handling 120 million passengers which will be required for relocating Emirates Airlines’ hub to Al-Maktoum International Airport being built in Dubai World Central economic zone.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, has already approved the $32 billion expansion project and has allocated a timeframe of 6 to 8 years for its completion.
 
Earlier, the plan to develop Al-Maktoum International Airport was first launched in 2009 before Dubai was hit by global financial crisis. The aim was to build the largest airport in the world with a capacity to handle 160 million passengers annually. The proposed airport was to have six runways. It was because of the global financial crisis that the ambitious plan was put for some years on the backburner, only to be resumed now.

According to the final plans, the Al-Maktoum International Airport will be featuring five runways each stretching 4.5 km. The runways will be spaced wide apart for allowing simultaneous use. The plan also envisages a capacity to handle 200 million passengers annually.