Emirates has broken ground on its new $5.1-billion engineering complex at Dubai South slated to become the world’s most modern and advanced maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) facility, cementing Emirates’ and Dubai’s leadership in global aviation capability and infrastructure.

Emirates’ new engineering facility is being delivered by China Railway Construction Corporation, a leading construction and infrastructure development company, with Artelia appointed the project consultants.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held in the presence of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group, Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, and Dai Hegen, Chairman, China Railway Construction Corporation.

Emirates’ new engineering facility will span 1.1 million sq m, making it one of the largest buildings in the world by volume and the largest steel structure in the GCC. 

The facility will also feature the world’s only hangar complex with the ability to simultaneously service 28 wide-body aircraft and two painting hangars. Other notable features of the mega-facility include:

- The largest free-span hangar in the world at a width of 285 m;

- The largest dedicated landing gear workshop in the world;

- 77,000 sq m of dedicated workshop space for repairs and maintenance;

- 380,000 sq m of storage and logistics capacity;

- Two state-of-the-art paint hangars to service Emirates’ fleet of wide-body aircraft with extended capacity to also handle narrow body aircraft.

The technical facilities will be supported by a new dedicated administrative building for Emirates Engineering providing 50,000 sq m of office space and 15,000 sq m of training facilities as well as a gateway facility that will control airside access.

Emirates’ new engineering complex is also expected to set new benchmarks for sustainability with all project facilities targeting a LEED Platinum rating and with solar panels installed on the roofs across the complex among other initiatives.

Construction of the facility is expected to be completed by mid-2030 and the hangar complex will initially start servicing aircraft requiring heavy maintenance and spillover projects from the Emirates Engineering Centre at Dubai International Airport.