With 97 per cent work on the construction of new passenger terminal at Muscat International Airport having been completed, the authorities are awaiting final approvals for starting operations. The new airport will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers a year in the initial stages, which will gradually be increased to 48 million passengers. The terminal has a total area of 580,000 sqm with 118 check-in counters for airlines and 82 immigration desks.
As per the earlier reports, the airport will have 4-star hotel within the airport facilities with around 90 rooms.
Muscat airport has been leading in terms of passenger traffic growth in the Middle East, as per the statistics available from Airports International Council (ACI)
In January, Muscat was leading over its rivals with a growth rate of 14.7 per cent, to be followed by Doha with 14 per cent and Dubai at 9.7 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
ACI expects international passenger traffic to double to 14 billion by 2029 and while it may be noted that the new Muscat airport, when complete, will be able to handle 20 million passengers per year, which would be six times bigger than the current one.
It may be noted that the economic growth globally is shifting towards the east and Oman is strategically located as most destinations in Asia are at a distance of eight hours from Muscat.
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