Oman airport: New runway, control tower and civil aviation headquarters nears completion

In the first phase, the Muscat airport will have a new runway, control tower, and meteorological and air traffic management centre.

Muscat: Phase 1 of the Muscat International Airport expansion will be completed in the next two months, said a top official at Public Authority of Civil Aviation (PACA).

"We will be able to complete Phase 1 in the next two months. It will have a new runway, control tower, meteorological and air traffic management centre and the PACA headquarters," Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi, PACA chief executive officer, told Times of Oman.

According to reports, further expansions planned in three subsequent phases will boost capacity to 24, 36 and 40 million passengers as and when the demand increases.

In February this year, officials told the media that 72 per cent of the work on the new Muscat International Airport had been completed.

"That part of the project which constituted the main contracts one and two (MC I and II), is nearly complete," the officials had said then while adding that Salalah's new airport is also progressing well — it is 85 per cent complete.

The Muscat International Airport development project is the largest project to ever be undertaken in Oman's history.

The design is based on an initial capacity of 12m annual passengers. According to PACA, the total passenger traffic, including transit and transfer passengers, through Muscat International Airport has increased by 7 per cent to 5,106,159 until July 2014.

During the same period of 2013 the airport registered 4,773,856 passengers.

Meanwhile, speaking about the private investment plans, the PACA official said that a study had been conducted and the concerned authorities are looking into options to implement it.

"As part of the private investment plans, we have studied options to provide licences to low cost carriers, air taxis and air ambulance services apart from setting up of aviation training colleges and bringing in experienced faculty," said the PACA official.

In a communication with World Trade Organisation's trade policy review body in July this year, the Sultanate said that PACA is in the process of issuing an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) to private airline operators.

"PACA, with the assistance of a professional consultant, is currently busy setting up the necessary legal and economic regulations including selection criteria and process to allow for private sector participation. Initially this will focus on setting up of a low cost carrier to be followed by other services (Helicopter operation, cargo, private, seaplane etc). Factors taken into consideration are the market demand, encouragement of competition, encouragement of private sector participation in the development of the sector," said the communication.

Meanwhile, the official also added that PACA and all other authorities concerned are all set to combat any kind of emergency arising out of the spread of the Ebola virus.