A contract awarded to Germany’s SiemensDematic will expedite the pace of construction of the Mega Cargo Terminal (MCT), the largest in a line of expansion projects for the Dubai Air Cargo Terminal.

SiemensDematic won a Dh400 million ($109 million) contract for cargo handling equipment and a storage system for the terminal in a bidding competition featuring four other prequalified companies, namely ABB Airport Technologies, Murata Machineries, Lodige Fordertechnik and SHS Fordertechnik.

“We expect the Mega Cargo Terminal will be equipped to handle up to 1.2 million tonnes of freight per year, emerging as one of the most advanced air cargo terminals in the world,” a Dubai Cargo Village official said. The total volume handled at the existing terminal was 785,00 tonnes in 2002 against 632,200 tonnes in 2001.

The projected cargo traffic increase for 2003 is 15 to 18 per cent. More than 100 airlines serve Dubai Airport of which 21 have freighter operations.  The DCV official said the share of Dubai airport in the airfreight handled throughout the UAE was about 50 per cent in 2002.

“Depending on the actual growth, it is proposed that the existing and original cargo terminal will be demolished and replaced with the final phase of the MCT offering a throughput capacity of 2.7 million tonnes a year.

Operating alongside existing buildings in the cargo village, the MCT will include warehousing facilities, cold stores, pallet buildings and offices for airline and freight forwarding tenants.

Guenter Behrend, general manager of SiemensDematic ME, said: “We have been involved with Dubai International Airport for a long time and the awarding of this contract reinforces our strong relationship with DCA. The material handling and storage system will have 2,800 unit load device pallets and 10,000 storage pallets, each with a 2.5 tonne capacity. We will set up the entire material handling system at the terminal with a 260m x 130m footprint under phase 1.”