April 27 - Two contracts for the expansion of Muscat and Salalah airports will be finalised by the end of this month, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Sakhr al Amri, the Under-Secretary for Civil Aviation Affairs in Oman. He explained that these contracts are part of the expansion and modernisation drives for Oman’s airports this year.

Addressing the participants of the Oman Economic Forum at Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, Al Amri pointed out that the contractor for the construction of a passenger terminal at Muscat International Airport will be finalised by the end this month. Bids for the contract, focusing on a state-of-the-art facility with a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per year, are currently under evaluation. Also due to be finalised is the choice of contractor for the Salalah airport, Al Amri added. The chosen contractor for this particular airport will build a new passenger terminal with a capacity to handle 2 million passengers annually, as well as a 4-kilometre runway, taxiway, 100,000-tons per annum cargo facility, and other amenities conforming to an international-class Code-F standard airport.

The results of the evaluations will be submitted to the tender board before the end of this month, he added, and both airports will be operational by 2013.