The 11th edition of the Airport Show, a leading event devoted to airport construction, operations, technology and services, opened in Dubai on Tuesday.

The show features over 160 exhibitors and a 63 member strong contingent of hosted buyers who will be sourcing products to the tune of Dh106 billion ($28.8 billion), said organisers Reed Exhibitions.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman of Dubai Airports and chairman and CEO of Emirates Group inaugurated the two-day show in the presence of a large gathering.

Sheikh Ahmed later took a tour of the exhibition and was briefed on the latest developments and technologies available to the airports industry.

Dr Khaled Al Mazrouei, general manager of Fujairah International Airport and chairman of Airport Leaders Summit 2011, said: 'As per the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) forecast, the UAE will be the second fastest growing aviation market in the world with 10.2 per cent growth by 2013, second to China with 10.8 pc growth.'

'Over the last decade, Middle Eastern carriers went from 5 per cent of global passenger traffic to 11 per cent. Industry analysts also believe that the private air charter business will pick up in the late 2011 and on into 2012.'

'This is evident from the forecasted growth for the region in which aircraft movement is predicted to touch 160,000 by 2018 at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.21 per cent per year for the Middle East region,' Al Mazrouei stated.

GCC countries have allocated an estimated $90 billion for airport development over the next few years, which include eight new runways in the Gulf region, development of 1,200 airports and military bases worldwide in addition to the new ones coming up.

Qatar tops the list of Gulf countries pumping money into airport development activity with an allocation of $11 billion followed by Dubai with $10 billion, Abu Dhabi with $6.8 billion, Jeddah with $1.5 billion, Muscat with $1.2 billion, Kuwait with $2.1 billion and $335 million in Bahrain.

Statistics from the Airports Council International (ACI) and IATA support the numbers as the global aviation bodies predict airports in the Middle East to handle over 400 Million passengers by 2020.

For several years now, airports and airlines have been benefiting from the robust demand for air travel in line with healthy global economic growth.

A leading project that will take the center-stage during the show is King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) that will aim to source state-of-the-art technology and construction materials for its estimated spending of $11.3 billion towards its expansion.

Mohamad Bader-Eddin, show director, Reed Exhibitions ME,  said the expo is also organising the ‘Airport Leaders Summit’ on the sidelines of the exhibition with focus on security, sustainable expansion and current economic concerns.

The summit offers an unparalleled opportunity to interact with an elite group of decision-makers from governments and businesses worldwide. It also aims to find long-term solutions to strategic issues the industry faces in the wake of the global economic uncertainty, rigid credit markets, high fuel prices and changing regulatory norms.

Additionally, the event seeks to deliver a combination of high quality networking and business development opportunities through a series of roundtable discussions and seminars.

Innovation seminars cover topics such as ‘Cavotec Innovative Gate Systems’ ‘Environmental Capacity: Managing the Impact of Airport Noise’ and ‘The World's First Mobile Passenger Terminal’.-TradeArabia News Service