Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, will move its operations to the city-state’s second, sprawling airfield in its southern desert reaches “within the next 10 years” in a project worth nearly $35 billion.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai's leadership approved a 128 billion dirham ($35 billion) plan to build a new passenger terminal at the emirate's Al Maktoum International Airport, which will make it five times bigger than Dubai's main international airport in terms of size — and the biggest in the world.

The Al Maktoum International Airport is planned to host 400 aircraft gates and five parallel runways, with a capacity of 260 million passengers.

Within ten years Dubai’s main airport will move to a new desert mega-hub, projected to be the busiest on the planet. Located 28 miles south-west of Dubai, Al Maktoum International Airport will have the largest capacity of any on Earth, with the potential to carry up to 260 million passengers per year.

When fully complete, the new Al Maktoum International Airport will accommodate 400 gates enabling the facility to handle up to 260 million passengers annually.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and Chief Executive of E

Dubai's airport is already one of the world's busiest, but the oil-rich emirate nonetheless wants to replace what's there with a hub five times larger and catering to around three times as many travellers.

Dubai International Airport is on track to transport more than 90m passengers this year. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports,