Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order for an automated people mover (APM) system for the first phase of Al Maktoum International Airport's development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The contract, from Dubai Aviation City Corporation, a Dubai government entity, was awarded to a three-company consortium comprising MHI, its Dubai subsidiary MHI Mobility Engineering Services L.L.C. (MHI-MESC), and Indian multinational conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).
The APM system will be the world's largest, with a length of approximately 50 kilometres connecting nine stations, representing unprecedented scale for an airport APM system. MHI and MHI-MESC, as consortium leaders, will handle design, procurement and testing for the 165 APM vehicles and signalling system that form the core of the system, along with overall system integration. L&T will be responsible for design, procurement, testing and on-site construction of other subsystems. Completion is scheduled for December 2031.
Al Maktoum International Airport is a large-scale national project by the Dubai government aiming to establish one of the world's largest hub airports, with a target opening of 2032 and an expected capacity of 260 million passengers annually. The APM system will connect the airport's terminals and major facilities to support that passenger volume.
MHI previously built the Dubai Metro in 2011 and completed an APM system for Terminal 3 at the current Dubai International Airport in 2012, and continues to provide operations and maintenance services for both systems.
