DUBAI - THE opening of Dubai's new airport has been delayed by a year because it has yet to receive the operating licence, a company executive was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Al-Maktoum International airport, part of a US$33 billion (S$50 billion) development in the Gulf business and tourist hub, will not be ready before mid-2010, Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths told Emirates Business.

'We were hoping to receive our licence from GCAA (the General Civil Aviation Authority) sometime this year. But it has got delayed and we do not see it happening now until mid-2010,' he said.

Mr Griffiths claimed the delay 'has got nothing to do with the financial crisis' which has hit many major construction projects in the oil-rich UAE.

He said most of the facilities were not yet in place at the airport, which is being built about 40 kilometres away from the current airport - already the busiest in the Middle East.

Only the first runway and the lighting are in place, Mr Griffiths said.

'We are aiming for a mid-2010 opening,' he said.

Al-Maktoum International, will cover 140 square kilometres with six runways and the capacity to handle 120 million passengers a year when completed.

It is part of the $33 billion Dubai World Central development in Dubai's Jebel Ali area, home also to the region's largest port and its busiest free zone. -- AFP