Emirates, owner of the world’s largest fleet of wide-body aircraft, is building a jumbo-sized engineering and maintenance facility as it prepares to relocate to a new airport south of the city.
The $5.1 billion hangar — slated to be the Gulf’s largest steel building, and capable of servicing 28 planes at a time — aims to attract more engineering talent and parts production to Dubai. The facility is being built by China Railway Construction Corp.
Emirates is also planning a nearby “cabin crew village,” a multibillion-dirham development to house up to 12,000 staff. Both projects are part of Emirates’ plans to move its operating base to Al Maktoum International, the city’s second airport, which will have twice the capacity of Dubai International once complete. The new hub is accelerating development along the otherwise sleepy corridor connecting Dubai and Abu Dhabi.