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Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has proposed the creation of a Multi-Mode Super Port at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport to provide a single hub for all sub- and supersonic air travel, space access, and hyperloop transportation in the UAE and the Middle East region.
The proposal is made as a part of the Dubai 10X Initiative that aims to encourage technological and conceptual innovation and disruption among all Dubai Government agencies and seeks to keep the Dubai Emirate 10 years ahead of its national, regional, and global economic competitors.
The proposed Multi-Mode Super Port concept seeks to capitalise on Dubai’s status as the world’s preeminent aviation hub, with Dubai International Airport handling over 81 million passengers and pieces of freight every year. The Dubai Emirate air carrier, Emirates Airlines, is currently the world’s fourth largest airline in terms of passengers and second largest in terms of air freight.
The proposed Multi-Mode Super Port aims to take advantage of the emergence of commercial hypersonic and space travel as being developed by companies such as Virgin Galactic among others. Al Maktoum International Airport would be transformed into a hub that can simultaneously handle sub-and super/hypersonic air travel and commercial space flight, connecting the hub with Dubai, and the rest of the UAE and the region with modern rail and hyperloop transportation.
Additionally, Al Maktoum International Airport is located very near to the Jebel Ali Port, the largest sea cargo terminal in the Middle East, and approximately 100 kilometers from the Khalifa Port facility near Abu Dhabi.
The Al Maktoum Multi-Mode Super Port proposal also includes locating all supporting aerospace, space, and transportation industries and services at the hub, an idea that corresponds with nascent plans at the UAE Space Agency to create a commercial free zone in Dubai with the aim of establishing the UAE as a regional space sector hub.
The Al Maktoum Multi-Mode Super Port proposal also seeks to establish Dubai as a global “Cosmotropolis,” furthering the aim to create a regional and global air, space, and overall logistical hub.
