New dubai airport to give property investment a lift

A new airport is set to give Dubai's property market a lift.

The development of Al Maktoum International Airport reached another milestone, as plans for the two-phased project, which will cover an area of 65 square kilometres in Jebel Ali, was unveiled to His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, over the weekend.

Dubai International Airport is already the world's busiest hub for international traffic, and continues to play a vital role in the development of the emirate's economy as aviation remains a core pillar for growth. Indeed, the aviation sector's contribution to GDP is set to rise to 32 per cent by 2020 from 28 per cent at present. As well as creating new jobs, this growth is also expected to boost real estate investment.

Faisal Durrani, Cluttons' International Research and Business Development manager comments: "Aviation has historically been a significant contributor to the city's growth. Once again, the sector looks set to deliver the next wave of growth for Dubai, well beyond the current horizon of the 2020 Expo, which is already translating into a flurry of construction activity across the city. The residential sector will no doubt be an obvious long term benefactor of the significant rise in the number of jobs being created, with both lettings and buyer demand set to rise significantly as the number of households in the city increases. However, it is the commercial sector that stands to benefit the most in the short to medium term."

According to Cluttons, the office market continues to recover following the downturn, with occupier activity still ticking upwards across the city as occupancy levels recover in many pockets of the city, although there still remain some issues surrounding strata ownership, which has left vacancy rates abnormally high in some select locations.

Durrani continued: "The development of Al Maktoum Airport will no doubt help to drive further activity as aviation related industries begin to mobilise and take up position in the city set to house the world's largest airport."