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Rebuilding Oman’s airports 

Photo: COWI
Oman is in the midst of major expansion programmes at two of the sultanate’s international airports, Muscat and Salalah. COWI has been involved in nearly every aspect of the projects.
Airports are no longer mere transit halls for moving people from point A to B. They are considered an integral part of the travel experience with passengers expecting an array of amenities and comforts during all stages of their journey.

To respond to this trend, Oman’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has initiated an ambitious expansion and refurbishment programme of the country’s two largest airports, Muscat and Salalah, which both were inaugurated nearly 40 years ago.

As the most costly infrastructure project in the Oman’s history, the expansion projects are a key element in the sultanate’s effort to boost its tourism industry and compete with other airport hubs in the Gulf region.

From taxiways to taxi drop-offSince January 2005, COWI has served as planners and designers on the airport projects as part of COWI-Larsen Joint Venture, a consortium that includes Larsen A&CE. During construction COWI-Larsen JV acts as the Engineer.

COWI-Larsen JV has worked through the entire design process to prepare ten Main Contract (MC) packages which cover virtually every aspect of the airport projects from runway expansion to baggage handling systems.

As of Spring 2010, COWI Larsen JV is in the midst of evaluating contractors’ bids to determine suitable candidates for realising the design work laid out in the contracts.

Construction is already underway on MC1, the Civil Works Contract, which was awarded to CCC and TAV of Turkey. This contract alone is valued at EUR 944 million.

A select list of the MC packages is presented below:

Muscat International Airport MC1 – Civil Works Contract

  • Ground improvement and groundwater management for entire development site 
  • Airside road system: New runway, upgrade of existing runways, new taxiways and new apron area 
  • Landside road system: Includes two highway interchanges, new access highway, new distributor road, several new service roads, and the upgrade of existing roads around the development site 
  • Eight highway bridges within the new interchanges 
  • Storm water drainage system for the entire site 
  • All main utilities (power, water, sewage, etc.)

MC2

  • Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) – projected to reach 90 metres high 
  • Air Traffic Management (ATM) Complex (16,000 sq metres) which will accommodate the Oman Air Traffic Control as well as Meteorology Department 
  • Crash Fire Rescue and Sea Rescue station

MC3 The passenger terminal building at Muscat is the single largest construction package associated with the airport’s redevelopment.

MC4 – Civil Aviation Headquarter

MC5 – Salalah International Airport

  • New runway and taxiway system 
  • Passenger terminal 
  • Sewage system for the entire site 
  • Water and power supply for the entire site
  • Airfield lighting system 
  • Chiller plants for air conditioning units
In addition to preparing the above contracts, COWI-Larsen JV is involved in drawing up contracts for the IT systems and baggage handling systems, as well as passenger boarding systems.

The redesigned Salalah and Muscat airports are expected to go into service in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

More info about the project 

  • The massive flooding caused when Cyclone Gonu struck Oman in June 2007 led to a major redesign of the Muscat airport, even though the design was nearly 70 per cent complete at the time. 
  • Some 450 employees from COWI-Larsen JV and subsidiaries and sub-consultants are currently engaged full-time to complete the project. 
  • When the Main Contract Packages had to be delivered, a total of 40,000 drawings and 2,500 documents were submitted. 
  • The defunct Concorde supersonic passenger plane landed at Seeb International Airport, Muscat’s predecessor, in 1974, to demonstrate the facility could accommodate such aircraft. When the expansion of runway facilities at Muscat and Salalah airports is completed, they will likewise be able to accommodate the world’s largest passenger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 ‘Superjumbo’.

LAST UPDATED: 20.04.2011