Muscat: The construction works at Muscat International Airport is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Dr Ahmad Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, said that 86 per cent of the airport has been completed so far.
Al Futaisi also affirmed that 86 per cent of the passengers’ terminal has been completed and that many finishing and interior works are near completion, as well as many work packages are very close to 90 per cent completion. The airport has been delayed due to efforts to treat the moist soil being on which the airport run way was built.
He said opening of the airport will help Oman Air, which is currently developing and expanding its fleets and increasing destinations.
“When the low-cost airline starts operation, it will complement the operations of Oman Air and will attract more passengers. The low-cost airline will be also an important addition to the aviation sector in the sultanate,” he said.
That came after Seyyed Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Saeed, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers and members of the Council of Ministers, visited Muscat International Airport to review the work progress of its stages on Sunday.
The new Muscat International Airport is expected to have a capacity to handle more than 12 million passengers every year.
Al Futaisi said work is going at very fast pace and that he managed to increase the number of workers in the third stage of the passenger terminal project to more than 18,000, according to Oman News Agency (ONA).
Last May, more than 1,000 illegal expatriates were arrested for working in the new terminal building under construction at Muscat International airport.
Those illegal workers had visas issued for jobs in restaurants, barber shops, tailor shops, as housemaids and camel keepers.
