Dubai International Airport said first-quarter passenger traffic increased 12.7 percent to 6.0 million people from 5.3 million a year earlier.

Cargo traffic increased 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2005 to 303,206 tonnes.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation, said in a statement that he hoped 25 million passengers would use the airport in 2005, up from 21.7 million last year.

Dubai, part of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, is the main trading and transport hub in the Arab Gulf region.

Sheikh Ahmed said Dubai had begun work on a second commercial airport, close to Dubai's Jebel Ali sea port and free zone, about 40 km (25 miles) from the existing airport. He did not say when it would open.