Dubai's Investment in Aviation Takes Shape in the Desert
As if to acclimate visitors to Dubai’s construction boom, its international airport is a scene of intense activity. A new underground terminal and two concourses account for most of the $4.1-billion current investment there. But that is just a fraction of what the emirate plans to spend on airports by 2012.
“We have to set the stage for future growth,” says Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin, the Dept. of Civil Aviation’s director of engineering and projects. The authority forecasts airline passenger numbers visiting Dubai rising from 25 million last year to 70 million in 2020.