Dubai Duty Free says it will part-finance the new Concourse 4 planned for Dubai International airport.

This would be the first investment by Dubai Duty Free in a major infrastructure project. In May, Dubai Airports Company said it was considering building a fourth concourse at the airport to accommodate the 75 million annual passengers expected by 2015 (MEED 4:5:11).

Concourse 4 is expected to be connected to terminal one. Concourse three is due to open at the end of 2012 and will consist of 20 dedicated A380 gates.

Dubai International airport recorded total passenger traffic of 12.2 million during the first quarter of 2011.

In July, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum approved a $7.8bn airport and airspace expansion programme for Dubai International. The expansion will increase capacity to 90 million passengers a year by 2018.

It is also designed to improve economic growth and generate 22 per cent of total employment and contribute 32 per cent of the emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020.

The strategy includes aggressive expansion plans for airspace, airfield, aircraft stands and terminal areas at Dubai International up until 2020.