Roadshows for the planned $750 million sukuk from Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) will be staged in the second week of October and will take place in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The issue is being lead managed by Dubai Islamic Bank(DIB), which is also acting as the global co-ordinator and bookrunner. HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citigroup, Kuwait Finance Houseand Gulf International Bankhave been appointed as joint co-managers. The issue is fully underwritten.

The five-year paper will be used to part-finance the expansion of Dubai International Airport.

'This is the first of a string of financings the DCA is looking to lock in over the next five years,' says a banker close to the transaction. 'It needs to raise just over $4,000 million and will come for $800 million in early 2005 - probably another sukuk if this first deal goes well.'

The debut sukuk carries no explicit government of Dubai guarantees, but is supported by the increasingly robust revenue streams generated by the DCA. A passenger tax of AED 30 ($8.17) on all outbound flights was introduced on 1 September, which should generate income in excess of AED 300 million ($82 million) next year. The prospectus for the sukuk is also expected to detail the DCA's revenues from Dubai Duty Free, the cargo terminal and landing fees. In addition, it is understood to enjoy dividend payments from its ownership of Emirates- the payout to the DCA from Emirates' last financial year is understood to have been worth about AED 100 million ($27 million).