Muscat prepares for airport opening

07 January 2018
Muscat International airport has been absorbing increased regional air traffic since June 2017

Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) expects to begin commercial operations of the much-delayed new Muscat International airport in April.

The new terminal at the airport was initially expected to be completed in 2014.

MEED understands OAMC, in partnership with Germany's Munich Airports, has been conducting trial flight operations from the new  airport since December last year.

Munich Airports is delivering the airport’s operational readiness and airport transfer (Orat) services.

Muscat International processed more than 12 million passengers and about 162,000 tonnes of cargo in 2016. These figures are 17 per cent and 21 per cent higher year-on-year, respectively.

These figures are expected to have significantly increased in 2017 as Oman’s airports have been absorbing more regional traffic since the closure in June last year of air spaces of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to Qatar.

Last year, OAMC awarded US-based DHL with a cargo handling contract for Muscat International.

The new airport terminal has been under construction since 2010.

A team of Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company and Turkey’s TAV Construction won the $1.17bn infrastructure works package for Muscat airport in 2007. A joint venture of Bechtel (US), Enka (Turkey) and the local Bahwan Engineering Company won the $1.8bn contract for the construction the airports’ passenger terminal buildings and related facilities in late 2010.

Designed by France’s ADPI, the new Muscat International airport has a capacity to handle up to 12 million passengers a year. Succeeding phases of the airport expansion plan entails bringing the airport’s capacity to up to 48 million.

The upgrade of Salalah airport in Oman's Dhofar governorate was completed by India's Larsen & Toubro and the local Galfar Engineering in 2015. It increased the airport’s capacity to 2 million passengers a year. The project included a new runway, taxiways and aprons.

Muscat International awarded packages
Key packagesContractorContract value ($m)AwardCompletion
Project management consultancyADPI (France)na20062014
Principal consultant for design and supervisionHill International (US)186.720122016
Civil works - new runway, taxiway, apron, landside development, access road to terminalConsolidated Contractors Company (Lebanon) / TAV Construction (Turkey) JV1,16920072016
Air traffic control (ATC),  data centre (DC2), contingency & training building (C&T), crash, fire & rescue (CFR)Carillion Alawi (local)14820102014
Passenger terminal buildingBechtel (US) / Enka (Turkey)/ Bahwan Engineering Company (local)  JV1,83420102016
Civil aviation headquartersTowell Construction (local)nanana
IT & security systemsUltra Electronics (UK)nanana
Operational readiness & airport transfer (ORAT)Munich Airport (Germany)nanana
Baggage-handling systemsVanderlande Industries (Netherlands)7320112016
Air traffic management systemsIndra (Spain)nanana
Navigational aids systemsThales (France)nanana
Passenger boarding bridgesJBT Corporation (US)nanana
Detail design and construction of cargo and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilitiesJoannou & Paraskevaides (Greece)51820072016
Detail design and construction of catering facilitiesGalfar Engineering & Contracting (local)17420132016
Design, supply, installation and commissioning of a new radarRaytheon (US)nanana
Design and construction supervision services for MRO hangars and cargo facilitiesGhafari Associates (local)nanana
Design and Construction Supervision for Inflight catering facilitiesAl-Hatmy Engineering (UAE)nanana
Dredging works and soil reclamationBoskalis Westminster (Netherlands)nanana
Improving & strengthening the soilSolitanche Bachy (France)nanana
Sources: OAMC; MEED Projects

 

 

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