The Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) is set to issue three tenders seeking suppliers for its Midfield Terminal Project a day after Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed paid a visit to the site and said it will open in 2019.
The airport operator has advertised tenders for a company to run its staff canteen, to supply and install office furniture and to provide trolley-management services at the new terminal. Companies interested in bidding need to register with Adac’s tender portal and submit expressions of interest by noon on Thursday, after which tender documents will be distributed to the interested parties.
Sheikh Hazza, who is deputy chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, said on Sunday that the airport will be able to accommodate up to 30 million passengers a year when the Midfield Terminal opens its doors in 2019.
“Abu Dhabi International Airport will be the jewel in the crown of the infrastructure projects in the emirate, and it will constitute a paradigm shift in international standards to cope with the development the UAE capital Abu Dhabi is currently witnessing,” he said.
The Midfield Terminal will house 65 aircraft gates and cover an area of about 742,000 square metres, which will include 3,500 sq metres of duty free shopping. It is being built by a partnership between Arabtec, the Consolidated Contractors Company of Greece and Turkey’s airports specialist, TAV Group. The contract was awarded in 2012 and was initially due for completion by July 17 this year.
The new terminal is one of a number of significant airport expansion projects either being built or in the pipeline across the GCC. According to a report published by business information company Meed in November, more than US$100 billion worth of airport projects are expected to be completed between now and 2020, including the Midfield Terminal complex, King Abdulaziz International in Saudi Arabia, the expansion of Muscat International Airport and a new passenger terminal at Bahrain International Airport, the latter of which is also being built by an Arabtec-TAV partnership and is funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
Other projects in the pipeline include the next phase of Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
However, there are signs that this growth in capacity – regional carriers currently have about 1,300 planes worth an estimated $345bn on order, according to Meed – is eating into profit margins at global and regional levels.
In January, ratings agency Moody’s reported that operating margins are declining as capacity growth is outstripping demand. Although the Middle East will enjoy the highest rate of revenue passenger kilometre (a measurement of demand) growth of 9 per cent this year, this represents a decline of 1.8 per cent on last year.
Jonathan Root, a senior credit officer at Moody’s, said “the financial impact of weak oil prices is the main cause of slower growth” in the region.
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Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
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Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
The five pillars of Islam
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
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Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
Bawaal%20
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