airportXchange unveils a new web initiative for the Middle East region

By Fariha Mohd Yusoff

Kuala Lumpur, 9 July 2001 - airportXchange's recently launched joint venture B2B and Travel portal with Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has gone live on the 3rd July 2001 in Dubai. This new portal for airport community - www.ax-max.com - focuses on the Middle East region.

This joint venture effort unveils cutting edge Internet services such as online procurement, online e-tailing, infomediary services which allow dissemination of information to the public at large and a loyalty programme known as Majestic Wings.

The portal was launched with the online procurement worth Dh450 million Dubai Mega Cargo Terminal Project and bidders have been invited for the pre-qualification process. The online procurement services which went live on the 3rd July 2001 saw Pre-Qualification and Tendering process taking place on the Exchange. Suppliers will need to go through a series of simple steps to enable them to participate on the Pre-Qualification process on the Exchange.

Through the online procurement service, procurement professionals are allowed to migrate their business processes via the Internet to minimize administrative costs, improve efficiency, in addition to improving an airport's communication process with participating suppliers. 

airportXchange unveils a new web initiative for the Middle East region

"This project has proven itself as a landmark for airportXchange as it serves to be the gateway for further initiatives in Dubai and the Middle East." said Suhaimee Abu Hassan, President of airportXchange. 

The Dubai International Airport is currently undergoing a second phase airport expansion development project worth $1.4 billion and this joint effort is an element towards achieving the ambitious plan of making Dubai International Airport one of the world's leading aviation hubs. DCA, through this effort, enables the UAE to materialize its effort to become the region's leader in e-commerce activities.

"This second phase expansion plan would mean great opportunities for those involved in the construction industry, suppliers of airport-related equipment and consultants. The expansion plan calls for a new passenger terminal and concourse. Construction firms and suppliers should take advantage of the Middle East airportXchange, register their details to enable them to bid for tenders online" added Suhaimee, who is also the director of Middle East airportXchange.

The Middle East airportXchange is a joint venture between Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation and airportXchange Ltd. in a 51:49 ratio. "A team is set up to run the operations relating to business expansion and application support" said Sarah Samuel, Vice President, Business Development.

Suhaimee added that airportXchange has plans to have 2 similar portals, one in London for the European market and the other in USA for the American market.

airportXchange unveils a new web initiative for the Middle East region

The Middle East airportXchange was developed using Java and runs on Oracle 9iAS, both of which are efficient tools for internet-based application development. The exchange is also supported by IBM pSeries 680. 

The strength and expertise of the management of airportXchange, together with the extensive technology development and business model makes it an obvious choice for DCA to implement a regional e-market place for the airport industry in the Middle East region.