Portland gets duty-free at Dubai

Dubai Airport is expanding with a 340m second terminal and new concourse. The terminal’s duty-free area is being designed by Portland.

The terminal is scheduled for completion next month and will include a 1400m2 retail space.

The duty-free area layout will be more reminiscent of a department store than separate outlets for different product categories, says a

Portland spokesman. Interactive areas and a monolithic video wall will feature in the design.

“We intend to set the store apart from the average duty-free store and create an environment with more theatre, leading to greater average spend and repeat custom,” says Portland managing director Stewart Caddick.

The concourse, set to include 9000m2 retail space, is in the process of being built.

The Terminal 2 space acts as a foretaste of what is to come in the concourse.