AVIATION NEWS-Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC), a Dubai government entity, has awarded a contract for an automated people mover (APM) system for the first phase of Al Maktoum International Airport’s development – delivering the largest airport transit system of its kind in the world.
The contract was awarded to a three-company consortium comprising Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), its Dubai-based subsidiary MHI Mobility Engineering Services (MHI-MESC), and Indian conglomerate Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T).
Under the contract, the APM system will span approximately 50km and connect nine stations, an unprecedented scale for an airport people-mover system anywhere in the world.
APM systems are used at airports worldwide to connect terminals or link airports with surrounding urban areas. The current record-holders are Skylink at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in the US, the longest at about 8km, and The Plane Train at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, carrying around 91 million passengers annually.
At 50km, Dubai’s new system will far exceed both once complete – underlining the scale of the emirate’s aviation ambitions.
Mitsubishi Heavy and its subsidiary will handle the design, procurement and testing of the system’s 165 vehicles and its signalling technology, along with overall system integration, while L&T will be responsible for designing, procuring, testing and constructing the remaining subsystems on site.
Completion is scheduled for December 2031.
The award is part of Dubai’s broader push to develop Al Maktoum International Airport into one of the world’s largest hub airports, with the facility targeted to open in 2032. Once fully operational, the airport is expected to handle 260 million passengers annually, with further phased expansion planned beyond that.
The new APM network will connect the airport’s terminals and major facilities to smooth passenger flow, cut travel times, and support efficient operations as the airport scales up to meet rising aviation demand in the region.
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