The facts, as stated by Dubai Airports this month:
- Total investment: AED 128 billion, the largest single infrastructure project in Dubai's history
- Final capacity: 260 million passengers a year, five runways, two terminals
- Phase one: 150 million passengers, due in 2032
- Next milestone: the second runway, open by the end of 2027
- Location: Dubai World Central, the district known as Dubai South
Why it matters if you are buying for return.
An airport of that size is not a building. It is a jobs engine, and jobs are what fill apartments. Dubai South, Dubai Investment Park, Dubai Industrial City and the communities along Expo Road sit closest.
The catch. A project this visible gets priced early. Some of the future is already in today's asking prices, and some of it is not. The gap between the two is different for every building, and it changes as milestones land. The second runway in 2027 is the next one.
What we do with it. When a client asks about Dubai South, we do not start from the airport story. We start from what sold in that building in the last months, what it rents for now, what the service charges are, and what is scheduled to be handed over next door. Then we say whether the price makes sense today, with the airport as one input.
Source: Dubai Airports, 11 September 2026.