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Cargo Village postpones construction of terminal

Business Materials 20 October 2007 03:59 (UTC +04:00)

Dubai Cargo Village (DCV) has delayed the construction of the Dh1 billion second Cargo Mega Terminal at Dubai International Airport, an official said.

It has also taken back the management of the Dubai Flower Centre from the private company that was mandated to run it, to convert it into a retail and wholesale flower market from the earlier planned re-export hub.

"We have not shelved the Cargo Mega Terminal II project, but will delay it as the new Logictics City is going to be up and running soon," Ali Al Jallaf, vice-president of Cargo at Dubai Airports Company, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Fiata World Congress being held in Dubai.

"The construction of the first Cargo Mega Terminal is progressing as well in which we have invested Dh1 billion, while another Dh257 million was invested in the Dubai Flower Centre.

"We took back the management following the expiry of their contracts."

Cargo throughput at Dubai International Airport is expected to exceed 1.7 million tonnes by the end of this year, reinforcing it as one of the top 20 airports in the world.

Dubai International Airport ranks 18th in terms of cargo handling worldwide, according to Airports Council International. "In 1999, the Cargo Village surpassed capacity and had to deal with an excess of over 490,000 tonnes," Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Aviation Corporation, the umbrella organisation for the development and management of the emirate's aviation infrastructure and assets, told delegates.

"Soon, there will be facilities to handle up to 2million tonnes by 2014 and 2.7 million tonnes by 2018. In 1999, Emirates Airlines carried 11 million passengers. During the 2006-07 financial year, Emirates carried 17.5 million passengers. It is now the Middle East's largest airline, operating scheduled passenger and freight services, with nearly 2,350 flights each week to 94 cities in 60 countries."

The airport's cargo operations, which was managed by Dubai Cargo Village, has been brought under Dubai Airports Company.

"As part of the restructuring programme, the airport's cargo operations have been brought under the Dubai Airports Company as a business unit and this will manage the cargo operations of both the airports," he said.

He said, DCV has invested more than Dh38 million in acquiring the latest security equipment to ensure maximum cargo security at the cargo village.

"Historically, Dubai is a very safe place for cargo operations. Two years ago, Dubai Civil Aviation and Dubai Police created a joint security unit to manage the security at the airport, the same model will be replicated in Jebel Ali International Airport," he said. ( Gulf )

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