ABU DHABI – Abu Dhabi airport’s new 25 billion dirham ($6.8 billion) terminal is facing a four year delay due to modifications to the building’s requirements, a senior airport official said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to Etihad Airways’ ambitious expansion plans.

Suliman al-Siksek, head of aviation projects for the Supervision Committee for Expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport, said the Midfield Terminal will now not be completed until 2015.

The terminal was originally scheduled for completion in 2011.

“We believe the Midfield Terminal will be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2015,” Siksek said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

He said the delay is because “we were coordinating with the many stakeholders and there have been some modifications and change in requirements and also to accommodate the aggressive fleet acquisition of Etihad Airways”.

The setback could hinder the expansion plans of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which has an ambitious target to carry 25 million passengers a year by 2020, up from 6 million in 2008.

The Midfield Terminal will have an initial capacity of 20 million passengers a year, more than doubling the airport’s current capacity to 32 million.

Etihad already has a dedicated terminal at the airport – the 1 billion dirham ($367 mln) Terminal 3 – that opened earlier this year, but it is only a stop-gap until the Midfield Terminal comes online.

There has been concern that the Midfield Terminal would not be completed as scheduled for some time.
The committee and Abu Dhabi Airports Co, the airport’s operator, had already pushed the completion date back to 2012, and last month said it had stopped issuing completion dates for the terminal.

Abu Dhabi airport is currently undergoing a massive expansion to meet projected increases in business and leisure travel mapped out under the government’s 2030 plan for the future growth of the UAE capital.

Source: business.maktoob.com