DWC-Al Maktoum International has a current capacity to handle 250,000 tonnes of cargo, a figure that should surge to 12 million tonnes when the airport is completed. It is due to start serving passengers in March, with an initial capacity to handle five million.

The new airport is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the current Dubai International Airport, which is also undergoing expansion and is already the busiest in the Middle East. It handled 42 million passengers in 2009 -- a figure expected to reach 100 million by 2020.

It is part of the 32-billion-dollar (25.8 billion euro) DWC project, which covers 140 square kilometres (87 square miles) and is planned to be an urban aviation community, featuring a free zone, a logistics city and real estate developments.

DWC is located on the desert outskirts of Dubai, close to the Jebel Ali free zone and port, which is world's biggest man-made port and the largest Middle Eastern harbour.

DWC-Al Maktoum International is touted to become the world's largest airport with a capacity to handle 160 million passengers a year.