Emirates has officially started construction of its new US$5.1 billion engineering complex at Dubai South, a facility set to become one of the world’s most important centres for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul. The investment will further strengthen the airline’s technical capabilities, while also reinforcing Dubai’s position as one of the global hubs of the aviation industry.
The new complex will be located at Dubai South, next to Al Maktoum International Airport, DWC. According to Emirates, the facility will cover 1.1 million square metres and, once completed, is expected to rank among the world’s largest buildings by volume, as well as the largest steel structure in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
One of its key features will be a hangar complex capable of accommodating 28 wide-body aircraft at the same time, making it unique globally in terms of capacity. The new centre will also include two paint hangars, the world’s largest dedicated landing gear workshop, 77,000 square metres of workshop space for repairs and maintenance, and 380,000 square metres of storage and logistics capacity. The largest hangar will have a free span of 285 metres.
The project will be delivered by China Railway Construction Corporation, while Artelia has been appointed as project consultant. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Emirates Group; Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline; Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South; and Dai Hegen, Chairman of China Railway Construction Corporation.
Emirates says the project represents a strategic step in the continued development of Dubai’s aviation infrastructure. The new complex is expected to enable a higher level of vertical integration for Emirates Engineering by bringing specialist expertise, infrastructure, parts production and advanced technical capabilities together at a single location. In doing so, Emirates is positioning itself not only as an airline with extensive in-house technical capacity, but also as a potential engineering partner for the broader needs of the regional and global aviation industry.
The complex will also include a dedicated administrative building for Emirates Engineering, with 50,000 square metres of office space and 15,000 square metres of training facilities. A dedicated gateway facility will control airside access to the complex.
Emirates is also targeting high sustainability standards for the project. All facilities within the complex will aim for LEED Platinum certification, while solar panels are planned for installation across the roofs of the site.
Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2030. In its initial phase, the new hangar complex will be used for heavy maintenance checks and aircraft maintenance, as well as to handle overflow work from the existing Emirates Engineering Centre at Dubai International Airport.
