Horizon Terminals, a subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) will begin the construction in Q4 of 2106 of its underground 16-km-long jet fuel pipeline extension, which links its storage terminal in Jebel Ali with Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South.

The front-end engineering and design (Feed) for the pipeline extension to Al Maktoum International Airport is currently in progress, and is expected to come onstream by the fourth quarter of 2018, said a statement from Enoc.

The 58-km pipeline connecting the storage terminals in Jebel Ali with Dubai International Airport has been operational since March 2015 and has a storage capacity of 141,500 cu m for adequate jet fuel supply to the Dubai International Airport.

The project announcement was made by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai Airports, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group, and also Dubai World in the presence of Khalifa Al Zaffin, the chairman of Dubai South, along with several senior government officials and industry leaders.

Dubai Airports had recently announced that Al Maktoum International Airport has a projected annual capacity of 12 million tonnes of freight and 160 to 260 million passengers.

This coupled with Dubai International Airport’s $7.8-billion airport and airspace expansion programme are key indicators of Dubai’s plans to grow its aviation infrastructure and capabilities to double its passenger handling capacity to 200 million passengers a year by 2045.

"With its strategic location and impressive airport connectivity, Dubai’s vision to become the Middle East aviation hub and leading business destination has now been realised," remarked Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Enoc Group CEO.

Enoc, he stated, has had a close association with Dubai Airports since its inception, supplying jet fuel to meet the increasing traffic demand at the Dubai International Airport.

"With the extension of 16 km to Al Maktoum International Airport, we look forward to strengthening this relationship, as well as powering towards the future of connectivity of this great emirate," he added.

According to him, in terms of meeting fuel demand, the majority of Dubai International Airport’s jet fuel supply can be fulfilled by Falcon pipeline.

Upon the completion of the extension to Al Maktoum International Airport, the pipeline will be able to meet 60 per cent of Dubai Airport’s combined demand in 2050, he noted.

Al Falasi pointed out that Project Falcon was already providing reliable daily supply of jet fuel to Dubai International Airport and will do the same for Al Maktoum International Airport in the near future.

“As Dubai expands its aviation and tourism capabilities, infrastructures like Project Falcon are crucial facets of the city’s overall development plans,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service