DAE said its new subsdiary, DAE Airports, and its consortium partners would identify targets, structure deals and build airports, with a focus on new airports in regional markets, primarily in the Middle East, India and China on a build-owned-operate-transfer basis.

The consortium will invest up to $6 billion to develop airfields in Asia and expects to earn $1.5 billion in sales from such operations.

Announcing these ambitious targets at the Asian Aerospace trade show in Singapore, Dr Mohammed Al Zarouni, Managing Director of DAE, said DAE Airports and its partners, who represent the premier league of the emirate's businesses, will see the Dubai entity take the lead in bidding for new business.

The six consortium partners — Emaar, Dnata, Mercator, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Amlak Finance and Dubai Airports Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) — will add their specialist expertise to the DAE Airports package to offer a commercial cutting edge in negotiations.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by each party to the agreement yesterday.

"This MoU has brought together the best available expertise in key areas that are integral to airport development and operations. The signing of the MoU adds up to a 'win-win' proposition not only for the members of the consortium, but also for customers. Our clients from around the globe, particularly in this region and the emerging markets of Asia, are being offered a one-stop solution for their airport needs. Through DAE Airports, they will have access to a wide range of capabilities, whether this is a new airport on a greenfield site, a sophisticated operations upgrade at an existing site, or a privatisation," he said.

"Emaar, the most valuable real estate company in the world, offers unparalleled expertise in construction. Amlak does the same in finance. Dnata, Mercator and ENOC are bywords for excellence in ground handling, aviation and airport IT systems, and airline fuelling — their areas of operation, while DAFZA's commercial services are first class," he said.

Al Zarouni, who is also the Director General of DAFZA, said the success of the consortium would be driven by an unprecedented growth of the airport business.

According to a study conducted by A.T. Kearney, the global management consulting firm, AsiaPac and Middle East airport markets are expected to grow by 8.9 per cent per annum over the next 10 years.

Explaining the company's focus on wide-body rather than narrow-body aircraft, project director of DAE, Rashid Al Malik Rashid, said 60 per cent of the aircraft used in the Middle East are wide-body.

"Also, given Dubai's location between the U.S., Europe and Australia, the long distances need wide body, long-haul aircraft as opposed to short-haul, narrow-body ones," he said.

DAE will compete with American International Group's International Lease Finance Corp., and General Electric Co's GE Commercial Aviation Services.    He said DAE Airports would lead the way not only in bid negotiations, but also in organising finance, master planning projects and acting as general contractor for airport operations.

"Where ownership is an option, it will act as an equity holder for the airport."

Mohammed Al Hashimi, Amlak's CEO, said Amlak will team up with DAE Airports to provide long and short term financing for projects through a range of options.