The French transport services supplier Thales says it will bid on Dubai Metro’s Green Line when it is tendered, whilst keeping an eye on developments at Al Maktoum International.

Thales also expects the automated people-mover system at the new airport to be closer to a fully-fledged metro line due to the volume of passengers expected in the next decade, according to Marc Duflot, vice-president – business development for Ground Transportation Systems.

Speaking in an interview at the Middle East Rail event on Tuesday, Duflot said: “It’s going to be such a big transit system that it’ll likely be more of a metro than a people mover, with 240 million passengers eventually travelling through the airport, all needing to be transported around.”

Thales’ vice-president – sales for Ground Transportation Systems, Denis Laroche, added that the company would be in a “stronger position to win the work if it did turn out to be a metro rather than a people-mover,” as the former is Thales’ forte.

By 2022, Al Maktoum International will have a new terminal, two new concourses, and three runways in operation. At that point, the new airport will have capacity for 135 million passengers, growing to 240 million after that.

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