Emirates has broken ground on a US$5.1 billion engineering complex at Dubai South that the airline says will be one of the largest buildings in the world by volume, and the largest steel structure in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2030, with the facility due to span 1.1 million square metres and include a hangar complex capable of simultaneously servicing 28 wide-body aircraft. This will be the largest such capability at any MRO facility in the world, according to Emirates.
It will also house the largest free-span hangar in the world (285m (935 ft) wide), the largest dedicated landing gear workshop in the world, and two paint hangars with capacity to handle both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. The hangar complex will initially handle heavy maintenance and overflow projects from the Emirates Engineering Centre at Dubai International Airport.
Additional infrastructure at the Dubai South facility will include 77,000 square metres of dedicated workshop space for repairs and maintenance, 380,000 square metres of storage and logistics capacity, a 50,000 square metre administrative building, and 15,000 square metres of training facilities.
China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has been appointed as the main building contractor, with Artelia serving as project consultant. The complex will form part of the broader development of the Dubai South aviation ecosystem surrounding Al Maktoum International Airport.
“The new facility strengthens Emirates Engineering’s vertical integration strategy by bringing more skills, infrastructure, parts production, and specialist capabilities under one roof, while positioning the airline to serve as a strategic engineering partner for the future requirements of the regional and global aviation industry,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and Group.
A LEED Platinum sustainability rating is targeted for all the project facilities, with solar panels to be installed across rooftops throughout the complex.
Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, said, “The groundbreaking of this world-class facility marks another milestone in advancing the aviation infrastructure surrounding Al Maktoum International Airport, which is set to become the largest once completed.”
