It seldom rains in Oman, but when it does, it pours. Cars and roads get swept away as water cascades down the mountains behind Muscat in great quantities and on into the Gulf of Oman. One of the areas the rainwater passes to get to the sea is the stretch of land on which the new runway at Muscat International Airport will be.
It’s a flat, low-lying area, separated from the ocean only by a coast road, where water can stagnate in the shallowest spots after powerful but short-lived downpours. As the first part of the project, therefore, COWI-Larsen will be raising the ground three metres or so to prevent the new runway and the new roads ending up under water.
This is being done by driving 10-12 million cu.m desert sand and crushed rock onto the site. The material comes from a nearby building site of a new motorway.
In order to protect the rest of the airport site from flood surges, as well as a nearby development of luxury detached homes, one of the first steps in the building process is to install three giant outlets, or culverts under the coast road, to the Bay of Oman. The three culverts will have a combined capacity of 500 cu.m water a second.
Two international airports in Oman with an initial capacity of 12 and one million passengers, respectively.
Project management, airport planning and engineering consultancy in all disciplines
Ministry of Transport and Communications, Oman
Larsen A&CE
Copenhagen Airports International A/SAviaplanQServeAirways International New Zealand
2005-2011
Muscat International AirportSalalah International Airport
New university in Nizwa, Oman