The Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has successfully closed a US$1bn three-year ijarah facility.

An ijarah is an Islamic-compliant leasing agreement. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) was appointed as the mandated lead arranger to raise the capital to partially fund the development and expansion of Dubai International Airport.

Eight other banks that participated in the facility also as lead arrangers are: Standard Chartered, ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank, WestLB, Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), Societe Generale, Depfa Bank, and DZ Bank.

Dubai Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and ABN Amro were the joint bookrunners.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saaed Al Maktoum, chairman of DCA, says: “I am glad to announce the closure of this ijarah facility that took shape when DCA was planning its expansion. I congratulate DIB for spearheading this mandate successfully and for bringing together such an impressive list of banks.

“The quality of the banks supporting the facility reflects the confidence that the financial markets have in Dubai, in the economic policies of Dubai, and in the growth prospects of DCA. Besides, this deal reinforces the Dubai government’s conscious decision to opt for Islamic financing and its success.”

“The work on Dubai International Airport has been progressing very satisfactorily, and with the closing of US$1bn ijarah facility we are confident of completing the project as planned. With the completion of the second phase of expansion, Dubai International Airport will have the capacity to handle 70mn passengers per annum. Dubai is set to become one of the major commercial and leisure hubs, not just in the region but in the world,” he adds.