(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- This National Day is special for Oman in general as it will be remembered as the year when the new and state-of-the-art Muscat International Airport was opened. Oman now has the capability to accommodate large aircraft including the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747.
With the huge building that has retail outlets, First Class and Business Class lounges, and offices for airlines, car rental agencies, Muscat International Airport spans an area of 335,000sq m. The new terminal at the airport has the capacity to handle more than 20mn international passengers.
The new facility also has 6,000sq m of duty-free shopping, 8,000 parking slots, 96 check-in counters as well as a number of restaurants.
Speaking at the official opening of the airport recently, H E Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salim al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, said the airport has become a potential economic, tourist and investment entity for the country.
'This project has become a pride and a landmark among the prestigious projects that the sultanate has witnessed in the 48 years of Renaissance,' he said. Some of the features that the new airport includes are the state-of-the-art biometric smart technology to track any unauthorised access or inconsistencies. It has focused on creating a streamlined, integrated security process, while maintaining a great ambience at the airport.
As the new terminal is much bigger in size, people would have to walk a lot but the overall travel and transit time within the airport is much shorter because not much time is needed to get to the airport from the aircraft and vice versa.
Another big gift to the nation this year is the Duqm Airport. With the presence of this airport, Duqm has the potential to be the next summer destination of Oman. Duqm is just 500km from Muscat by road as compared to Salalah, which is nearly 1,000km from the capital.
With the ability to handle 500,000 passengers annually, the Duqm airport can receive most of the modern-day aircraft.
With the construction of the Duqm refinery and Chinese industrial corridor getting under way, Duqm is expected to receive around 100,000 residential and temporary workers in the next few years.
For this growing population, Duqm Airport will be the gateway to Oman and rest of the world. It has the capacity to handle cargo to the tune of 25,000 tonnes a year.
MENAFN1811201801410000ID1097710748
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.