Dubai to launch design competition for air traffic control tower

21 August 2016

Firms have been invited to express interest in participating

Engineering, design and consultancy firms have been invited to express interest in a design competition for the new air traffic control tower at Al-Maktoum International airport (AMIA).

Companies that are understood to have been invited to express interest include:

Other firms, including the UK’s Foster+Partners, are likely to have been invited as well.

The scope of work for the selected consultant will include developing “a visually prominent structure… complying with stringent traffic control requirements”. The design is also expected to adopt the latest technologies in order to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

The scope includes design services associated with the architecture, structure, and mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP) services, together with the tender preparation and site supervision.

The scope does not include the design of Navaids, but the consultants are requested to make provision for coordination with the Navaids specialist designer “as required”.

The $33bn expansion of AMIA will be delivered in two phases.

The air traffic control tower is part of the first phase of the expansion, to be completed in 2025. The other facilities to be built in phase 1a include:

  • West terminal building, car park and public road links
  • One satellite concourse
  • Three parallel code F runways
  • Cargo terminal

Upon completion of the final phase in 2045, the airport will feature:

  • Five parallel code F runways
  • Two terminals (east and west)
  • Four satellite concourses featuring an innovative triple-plus layout encompassing three nodes. Each concourse is envisaged to have 100 contact stands to cater for 65 million passengers. This would bring total airport capacity to 225 million passengers a year
  • Cargo facility (south)

The concept design for the West terminal has been completed by a team of Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah and France’s ADPI. In March 2015, the UK’s Leslie Jones Architecture was appointed to carry out the commercial design work for the airport.

Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) is the front runner for the design consultancy contract for the West terminal and concourse building.

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.