Building Progress DXB and DWC and news updates
 

I will keep you guy's updated every month from now on untill the new concourse is finished.

http://i56.tinypic.com/33dlemc.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2uhv2oh.jpg

You get a good idea how big this project is.

I'd guess still a couple of years from completion then?

What's the status of the new Jebel Ali airport? Has that been put on hold for the time being?

Cheers,
Rick

Thanks for that was through DXB a few days ago but forgot to look.

Might stop them bloody bus transfers when it opens, mind you - did we not say that when terminal three opened a couple of years back !!!!



Regards
Flying Fireman

Last I checked the first runway was complete and I they have started cargo operations. But they did push back the opening of the passenger terminal by at least a year. I think it's only after concourse 3 opens and EK starts overflowing from there, that they'll do something about the new airport.

I really don't understand their expensive strategy of T3 being temporary for EK and them eventually moving to the new airport. I say temporary because the rate at which EK is growing, it won't take 8 years to fill up the new concourse.

I don't see EK moving into JXB anytime soon with all the investment ploughed into T3. They are going to shift Fly Dubai there initially with EK possibly following but more later than sooner.

Although as ung1 said, with new aircrafts coming in at around 2 per month, they will struggle with space !

They could move other airlines into T3. T1 is in a pretty sad state anyway. I hope EK doesn't take over T1 and move everyone else to JXB!

Btw it's DWC now and no longer JXB.

Here you see the cladding better.

http://i55.tinypic.com/9k79zk.jpg

Being in the construction sector, I can assure you that DWC, with the financials of Dubai (amount of debt, credit ratings, cash resources etc.), is a project on paper only, for the time being.

They can only have it realized if they manage a BOO or BOT based contract, which again due to the CDS ratings of Dubai, is not feasable at the moment.

So we have to stick with the T3 and coming T4.

I think if they find a way, and spot for T4, maybe a T5-T6, and a way to build two, or three new runway's they could save a lot of money.

It all comes down to do they really need a new airport in these hard economic conditions ? They need to start spending money wisely.

My understanding is that DWC is currently open, and only for very few cargo flights. Apparently LCCs will be the first to transition there, followed by all non-EK carriers, leaving DXB to EK.

Not sure how accurate this is but it comes from somebody who currently works in DWC's control tower.

I stand corrected.

Here's another pic

http://i55.tinypic.com/21ngjtv.jpg

http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/72785/

gerald.d's gigaspan of Dubai. If you click the third pic it will zoom into the airport. The airbridges are progressing really good.

Gerald if I'm correct has a worlds record with the amount of pixels in his photos. These are numerous photos joined to make one big picture.

I would be surprised if EK left the new DWC airport to all other airlines. DWC has a much better location, almost at the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. I bet EK would catch lots of business from EY if they moved there.

The quality of the photo is not very good, but you can still see how the cladding of the terminal building is progressing nicely. :)

http://i51.tinypic.com/2jh3ps.jpg

new to the forum,great pics.does the terminal open 2012?

Wikipedia quote:

Could open 2012. But this is Dubai here. Nothing ever opens in time. :)

Good news on the new F and J lounges. Hopefully this relieves the pressure on the overcrowded J lounge in T3/C2.

Here's another pic of the center part of the T3 concourse. Looks like there will be wide open spaces, with big people moving elevators like terminal three there.

I wonder if they will have the same water feature on the wall to ?

The lounges should also be close to this part of the terminal.

http://i52.tinypic.com/73j61t.jpg

You will love this episode of BBC's fast track program. It has a lot of coverage of T3's new concourse. One of the contractors will point out where the lounges will actually be.

I think this concourse will be even better than terminal 3. :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ck/9443769.stm

Good feature, a working link can be found here

Some pictures from the other side of the terminal.

You can notice that this side is a little behind the other side by just looking at the glass section's. This side has about three glass sections that are complete, where the other side of the terminal has six complete glass sections on each side.

You can also notice the yellow insulation, then they put the black water proofing before they finish it off with the silver/gray aluminum cladding.

Slowly, but surely both sides will meet in the middle.

I'll try to get some interior pics for you guys.

http://i52.tinypic.com/313m3w5.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2ck6dh.jpg

Excellent report I thought. The phone-movie of people getting on A380 in Dubai is what I have experienced twice when being in J (I think they have sorted that now). There is a tendancy to call you out of the lounge even before they have opened the doors.

I went through T3 the first week that it opened and thought it was amazing. Gradually, over the next 2 years, it is already as bad as T1 was with conjestion. This is clearly a postive thing for Dubai however does not help us in the short term.

Although the new concourse due to open in 2012 will apparently assist, I doubt it. We may have one year before the same happens and conjestion occurs.

I must say, at the time I thought the Maktoum International 5 lane run-way (in addition to DXB) was mad, but given the loads etc, it is looking like a masterstroke.

Here's what worries me. Why is the F lounge on the level below the J lounge? It looks like it's getting narrower at the top, so does this mean the F lounge will be wider than the J lounge?

They seem to be making the same mistake as they did with T3, which is to have the lounges spanning the entire length of the terminal. And Brian LaBelle mentioned something about the lounge for Silvers moving to the new concourse, any idea where that's going to be?

I'm sure they're starting to think out side the box while this terminal is still in the building phase.

They still have a chance to figure out the problem, and make the lounges much larger than originally planned. We know the lounges will be locate in the middle/top section of the concourse. They should just raise the middle part a few more floors, but in an aesthetic way so it looks good from the out side, but in side they can add an extra lets say 50,000 m2 so they never have the same problem in this terminal. The elevator shafts are already located in that area, all they have to do is go up a little more.

The same thing can be done in T3, realistically that's the easiest way to solve the problem cause you can't go down, nor left, or right. Where else could they add space, any idea guys ?

My two cents worth.

Here you can see where the people mover will be located in the new concourse that will transport people to T3 under ground through a tunnel that was already built while they were building T3.

I can also predict a lot of congestion at passport control once the people mover, and new concourse goes into effect. They will share logistics such as passport control, and baggage claim which I think will be crazy once the airport hits 80 million pax/year.

http://i56.tinypic.com/29qjyux.jpg

Passport control is already stupid crazy though I think they rarely operate all counters. And the Fast track is congested and poorly managed!

Future of Dubai on track: 250km of Metro lines & tramways planned

Aim is to connect two airports by rail; Green Line to be operational by this year end

By StaffPublished Monday, April 11, 2011


Dubai plans to extend the rail network to more than 250km from the current 75km by including tramways and more Metro lines by the next decade were revealed agains the backdrop of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) World Congress and Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday inaugurated the congress.

Also present at the opening ceremony were Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Dubai Deputy Ruler Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of RTA, was quoted as saying by 'Khaleej Times' as saying that the aim of the rail network is to connect Dubai International Airport with Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali,

However, it is not yet decided which of the two Metro lines will connect the two airports, he added.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emir...04-11-1.379558

IMO unless the proposed rail connection between the two airports is anything less than a very high speed, non stop link it will not be particularly useful. If they simply extended the current Metro line right through it would probably take 90 mins or more to make the journey and that would be more like getting from LHR to LGW by rail (train/tube/train) on a good day. On the other hand an ultra frequent, high speed link with a journey time of sub 15 mins would mean that they could almost be the same airport from a connection point of view as it takes at least this long to get between terminals at many of the established International hub airports.

I actually thought about that as well. What I think would be the best solution, and the RTA could kill two birds with one rock is as follows.

Build the metro line like the existing metro, but with four tracks.

Two of the tracks could be used as the existing city metro line, which will most likely be running a long Emirates Rd from DXB-DWC, and extend it to Palm Jebel Ali. The connection between PJA, and DWC only need two tracks. That way the Dubai Metro connects many more neighborhoods with the service.

Use the other two tracks for high speed dedicated DXB-DWC connections like you mentioned so they get maximum speeds to connect the pax to the airports. It would also save a lot of time if this service had no passport control, its like your always in side the airport.

Here you have the existing metro red line, and up coming green line. Red line already goes to DXB.

You can also see the planned blue, and purple line, which will connect DXB-DWC.

This gives you an idea of how far apart the two airports will really be. With out a high speed rail link, it will be useless.

We can also notice how many more communities in Dubai will be linked with the metro blue, and purple line, and connections to both DXB, and DWC.

http://i53.tinypic.com/5x0meg.jpg

So whats the latest on the new airport terminal openming?

The new concourse is moving a long nicely, will be a little bit of a delay with construction.

In this picture you can get a true perspective on the ground how far the new concourse is from T3.

That people mover is going to be much needed.

http://i52.tinypic.com/302rxid.jpg

My personal best guess would be 1st or 2nd Quarter 2013.

Oh its far away, considering they need to keep that taxiway open between the 2 terminals, u cant make a fully loaded A380 go the long way to park up!

If I'm correct there are two taxi ways between the terminals, as well as parking space the long way up at either end of the terminals.

So how many meters would that make from terminal to terminal ?

The tunnel for the Automated People Mover and Luggage systems has been completed as part of the construction of Terminal 3.

"2,050-m long APM and BHS tunnels connecting the concourse 2, and 3 to T3

Here is a link to Daragroup, the company that did the tunels.

http://www.dargroup.com/pdf/projects...ieldTunnel.pdf

Some aerial shots taken out of an EK flight yesterday, they are not very clear, but you can at least see two taxi ways between T3, and the new concourse.

You can also see that the cladding is progressing.

http://i53.tinypic.com/2mmcnsp.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/einqsg.jpg