Formal go-ahead given for Salalah Airport development

The L&T-Galfar consortium led a field of three groups of bidders that had submitted firm offers for the keenly contested contract. Also in the race were J&P and the joint venture of Alsim Alarko and NCC. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is overseeing the modernisation of Muscat and Salalah international airports, as well as the development of domestic airports in Sohar, Duqm, Ras al Hadd and Adam. Envisaged as part of the Salalah airport contract is an international-class gateway that will impart robust impetus to socio-economic development in Dhofar Governorate.

Tourist traffic and tourism investment in the region are expected to soar when the upgraded airport is operational by around the year 2014. The contract, dubbed MC5, covers a package of works the centrepiece of which is a new passenger terminal covering an area of 71,000 sq metres and with a capacity to cater to one million passengers per annum. The design of the airport will allow for future expansions to be undertaken with relative ease.

Also as part of the airport modernisation package, the contractor will build a new 4km-long runway, large enough to handle the equivalent of the Airbus A380, which is among the largest civilian aircraft currently in operation. A state-of-the-art air traffic control tower will be built as well, along with a modern Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, fuel farm, catering building, and other facilities conforming to an international-class Code-F standard airport.

A cargo terminal capable of handling up to 100,000 tons of air freight per year will also be constructed as part of the project. The facility will also serve as an international and domestic hub for sea cargo in conjunction with the Port of Salalah and the Salalah Free Zone. A 30-months construction timeframe has been specified for the execution the Salalah Airport package.