Dubai eyes growth as airport builder

Dubai announced plans on Monday to establish itself in the field of designing and building airports as it looks to build of the emirate's position as a regional aviation hub. Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also vice president and prime minister of the UAE, has issued a law setting up Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects Establishment. The new entity, with financial and administrative independence, will be attached to the Dubai Aviation City Corporation, state news agency WAM reported. The new body "aims to strengthen the position of the emirate in the field of planning, designing and building airports and their amenities, as well as attracting local and foreign investments to the field", it said, citing article 5 of the law. Government-run Dubai Airports owns and manages Dubai's two airports, Dubai International and the new Al Maktoum International which opened for cargo operations in 2010. The operator plans to invest $7.8bn in airport expansion to boost current capacity from 60 million passengers a year to 90 million by 2018. Expanding airport infrastructure would generate $45.4bn in economic activity or 32 percent of GDP by 2020, it has been estimated. Analysts polled in December forecast the overall economy of the UAE to expand by 3.1 percent this year after an estimated 3.9 percent in 2011.