Dubai: Grandiose airport project stalls

Work has stopped on Al-Maktoum International Airport (also known as Dubai World Central), whose mega-expansion would eventually bring design capacity to 260m passengers a year. Bloomberg reported that Dubai’s decision to halt construction activity and freeze financing commitments was linked to the slowdown in Gulf economies. Completion of the estimated $36bn super-hub’s first phase – which is intended to consolidate Emirates’ position as the world’s leading long-haul carrier with a capacity increase to 130 passengers/yr – had already been pushed back five years to 2030.