Dubai Airports announced Dh55 billion in new contracts for the expansion of Al Maktoum International (DWC) to be awarded by year-end 2026 — on top of Dh13 billion in works already under construction. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been selected as contractor for a 50km Automated People Mover (APM). Al Maktoum's designed capacity is 260 million passengers a year; full completion — by 2032.
What was announced on 26 August
According to Gulf News on 26 August 2026, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths disclosed the near-term tender pipeline for the Al Maktoum expansion at a media roundtable: Dh55 billion of new contracts will be awarded by the end of 2026. This is on top of Dh13 billion in works already progressing on site; the total headline envelope from the current tender wave and active construction is Dh68 billion.
Paul Griffiths described the transition programme from existing Dubai International (DXB) to Al Maktoum as «the world's largest airport transition programme by a very significant margin». On his read, DXB will reach designed capacity by 2032, after which operating two major hubs in close proximity is not planned for the long run.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — 50km APM
Separately, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been named contractor for the Automated People Mover (APM). Key parameters as reported by Gulf News:
- track length — 50km;
- a fully automated train linking all concourses of the future terminal;
- serving nine stations.
For an airport designed to handle 260 million passengers, the APM is not a cosmetic element but a critical piece of infrastructure: without a reliable internal transfer system, a hub of this size cannot operate to plan. Awarding this block to a major Japanese industrial contractor anchors the quality standard and removes a substantial technology risk from the overall programme.
The construction site today: the numbers
Dubai Airports data reported by Gulf News for the past 15 months at Al Maktoum:
- 10 million work hours logged;
- 17,000 piles installed;
- 45 million cubic metres of earth moved.
These figures describe the active phase running in parallel with preparations to award the Dh55 billion tender pipeline. In other words, part of the works is already being financed and executed, while the next wave of contracts is due to be signed in the remaining months of the year.
Designed capacity and 600 cities
Al Maktoum's design parameters remain at the level previously disclosed by Dubai Airports: throughput of 260 million passengers a year, with direct connectivity to 600 cities at opening. That would make the future Al Maktoum the world's largest airport by designed capacity, with a considerable gap over current leaders including DXB.
Full opening is targeted for 2032. Some operations and infrastructure feeds will be commissioned in stages; full replacement of DXB will be completed as it reaches its designed ceiling.
What it means for contractors and business
The Dh55 billion of tenders to be awarded in the remaining months of 2026 is the near-term flow of commercial opportunity for a range of sectors:
- construction contracting (civil works, terminal core, concourses, engineering networks);
- engineering and digital systems (BMS, security, IT infrastructure, baggage handling);
- suppliers of construction materials and equipment;
- logistics, catering, MRO and ground handling;
- project management, BIM and compliance consultants.
The expansion also sets the growth trajectory for adjacent industries — real estate in the Dubai South / Dubai World Central area, cargo aviation, warehousing, hospitality and HoReCa, retail in the terminal. On labour: the scale of work hours already logged on site shows the programme is generating steady demand for engineers, ITR specialists and construction workers. Practical routes to setting up a logistics operation in the UAE are covered in «setting up a logistics centre in the UAE»; the broader macro context for UAE growth is set out in «UAE economy: 2026 outlook».
What's next
Key dates on the programme as fixed in the Dubai Airports announcement:
- by the end of 2026 — Dh55 billion of new contracts awarded;
- 2032 — target date for full opening of Al Maktoum and DXB reaching designed capacity;
- MHI — moves from signing to engineering design and mobilisation on the APM.
For the market this means the entry window into the project is tight: this year's tender pipeline is concrete and already broken down by lot. Companies planning to participate as direct contractors or as second- or third-tier suppliers have a horizon of a few months to prepare bids, documentation and, where needed, a local legal structure.
Primary source — Gulf News, «Dubai's new DWC airport: Dh55 billion in new contracts expected by year-end», 26 August 2026. Parallel confirmation — The National, «Dubai Airports: Dh55bn Al Maktoum contracts by year-end», 26 August 2026.
