Oman set for airport modernisation and construction

The contracts, totalling around $1.5billion in value, will lay the groundwork for the development of a comprehensive and modern network of airports that will fuel tourism as well as socio-economic growth in the different regions of the country.

In all, 13 contracts were signed by Dr. Khamis Bin Mubarak Al Alawi, Minister of Transport and Communications, with a number of local and international firms. The biggest contract involves upgrading Muscat and Salalah international airports. At roughly $1.16bn, the contract is the largest civil infrastructure project awarded by the Omani government so far this year. Total investment in both airport developments is estimated at well over $3bn.

When operational by early 2013, the new Muscat International Airport will boast a new runway, several taxiways and aprons, and a state-of-the-art terminal equipped to handle 12million passengers per year. Salalah International Airport will be modernised to cater to the city's rapid growth as a tourism destination and major transhipment hub and free zone.

The contracts will also pave the way for the construction of new domestic airports at Sohar, Adam and Duqm. They are among a total of six new domestic airports planned by the government in the different regions of the country.

Sohar, located around 200km north of Muscat, is already a major port and industrial hub and the site of an ambitious Special Economic Zone.

Duqm, on the sultanate's southeastern coast, is already targeted for development as the site of a world-scale port and dry dock complex, alongside a major industrial hub.

The domestic airport at Adam will serve as a gateway to the vast central desert heartland of the country. Three other airports are planned at Ras Al Hadd (Sharqiya region), Haima (Wusta region) and Shaleem (Dhofar Governorate).