Oman- Construction at new airport 91% complete: H E Futaisi

5/23/2016 4:48:37 PM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

About 91 per cent of construction work at the new Muscat International Airport has been completed, H E Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salim al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications said on Monday.

'We will complete the construction by the end of this year. After this, the operation readiness process will start. We have to ensure that the airport is safe to kickstart our operations,' he said at the first site visit organised for the media by his ministry.

'The Muscat International Airport will have the capacity to receive the world's biggest aircraft. The new runway, which is 4km long and 75m wide can handle large aircraft,' he said.

The new airport building is spread over 580,000sq m and will have the capacity to cater to 12mn passengers in the first year; the capacity will rise to 48mn in Phase 4.

At the site visit, it was revealed that more than 21,000 workers are currently working to keep the project on time.

The airport will have 96 standard check-in counters and 20 self-service kiosks including provision for about eight lounges. The luggage handling system will have the capacity to handle 5,200 bags per hour.

Brian Paton, lead architect of the project said, 'We have 22 staffed immigration counters and nine e-gates to assist passengers. The aircraft gates and associated gate lounges are contained in three piers and have separate circuits for arriving and departing passengers. The airport has 29 gates. Two of these can accommodate A380s, 11 are for 747 aircraft and 14 for A320s. The remaining two can cater to bigger aircraft. Premium guests can directly go from the lounge to the aircraft.'

The overall airport concept is a centre layout with the terminal building located mid-way between the two parallel runways. A tree-lined ceremonial access road will link the new terminal building to the Sultan Qaboos Street.

The passenger terminal building will be flanked by multi-storeyed car parks that will supplement the surface parking lot, giving a total of 8,000 spaces including for taxis and staff vehicles.

The building has 12,000sq m for duty free which will also comprise retail and food and beverage outlets. In addition, there will be a hotel with 90 rooms.

Paton said, 'This would give passengers who have a long haul the opportunity to relax and refresh. This will include a gym, health club and pools.'

The three piers are based on themes from Oman's natural landscape. The North Pier features mountains and the sea; the South Pier has the desert and the sky while West Pier has wadis, oases and aflaj.

'Each theme has an associated colour to highlight the key elements throughout the piers such as gate lobbies, toilet entrances, columns marking the entrance to the piers and the bus gate facilities. The North Pier uses blue, the South a sand colour and the West a leaf green.
'All of the above will assist in grounding the building in its environment and give the visitor a small taste of what Oman has to offer as a tourist destination.'

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