Consortium Led by MHI Secures Contract for Al Maktoum Airport's Massive Automated People Mover

A consortium led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), alongside its Dubai-based subsidiary MHI Mobility Engineering Services and Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd., has secured the contract to develop the automated people mover (APM) system for the expanded Al Maktoum International Airport. This system will be a critical component of the $35 billion airport expansion, which aims to replace Dubai International Airport as the emirate's primary aviation hub.

The nine-station APM system, which MHI projects will be the world's largest airport APM, will feature 165 automated vehicles and is targeted for completion in December 2031. MHI and its subsidiary will oversee the design, procurement, and testing of vehicles and signalling, as well as overall system integration. L&T will be responsible for the design, procurement, testing of other subsystems, and on-site construction.

Airport Expansion Milestones

The Al Maktoum International Airport project spans approximately 27 square miles and is ultimately designed to handle over 260 million passengers annually. Dubai Aviation City Corp. (DACC) is managing the expansion, with current work including over 17,000 concrete piles and more than 58.9 million cubic yards of excavation. A second runway has already been completed.

Dubai officials indicated in June that over $3.5 billion in construction packages were already underway, with preparations to award an additional $15 billion in work. Planned packages beyond the APM include substructures and superstructures for the West Terminal and concourses, approximately 16.1 million square feet of long-span structural frameworks, and infrastructure for the southern airfield, power generation, and district cooling plants.

APM System Details

The APM tracks will largely run beneath the aircraft apron, connecting terminals and concourses. Individual concourses are designed to be approximately 24.8 million square feet, extending about 1.7 miles, and featuring 100 boarding gates with APM access. The seven-level West Terminal alone is planned for approximately 8.6 million square feet, with an annual capacity of 45 million passengers.

Further infrastructure includes underground baggage galleries and batch centers capable of processing up to 30,000 bags per hour, utilising automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for screening, sorting, and direct delivery to aircraft stands. The final airfield will feature five parallel runways, each approximately 2.8 miles long, capable of handling Code F aircraft and allowing for simultaneous parallel approaches.