Oman’s
Salalah Airport is aiming to increase passenger traffic capacity to one million
passengers within the next three years, it was reported on Wednesday.
Mohammed
bin Ali Al Nahari, member of tourism committee at the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in Dhofar Governorate, said, “This project will boost contact with the
outside world. It will boost investments in trade and tourism.”
Official
statistics show that the number of passengers through Salalah Airport rose to
about 258,000 in the first seven months of this year, while the number of
flights grew 7.3 percent, from 2,040 flights to 2,188 flights, according to a
report by the Times of Oman newspaper.
The
expansion of the airport to accommodate the increased capacity has been
estimated at around OMR294m ($763m) and will include the construction of a new
passenger terminal building, data centre, electricity station, eight passenger
boarding bridges, passenger clearance complex and public car parking area for
2,200 vehicles.
“The
project will directly contribute to the advancement of other sectors. The
tourism income has reached three per cent. The project will have a positive
impact on the hotels’ occupancy in the governorate,” Ahmed bin Awad Al Hassan
of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dhofar Governorate, told the newspaper.
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