The UAE has quickened its work on the runway of a 2.5-kilometer-long airport on Abd al Kuri Island in the Yemeni Socotra archipelago on the Indian Ocean, according to Satellite images published by Sheba Inelegance.
Local sources told Sheba Intelligence that workers arrived in August via helicopters and small ships to “Abd al Kuri” to speed up work on the airport runway. The distance between the port where fishermen’s boats dock and the airport is roughly 25 kilometers.
The UAE began working on the runway in 2021. According to the sources, the work moved slowly but steadily between the middle and end of 2022. However, the Emirates resumed construction activities on the runway in July, and construction is ongoing until September 2023, according to Satellite images taken by Sheba Intelligence.
Satellite images show that the UAE has created unpaved roads in the island’s northern part over the past months and the roads are linked to labor camps and the runway location.
The UAE turned Abd al Kori Island, which covers an area of 133 km2, into a private military base after displacing most of the local population.
