16/10/2023, 10:31 Tech Excellence | Building Muscat's new airport | New Civil Engineer

Clearly a high degree of integration was needed. “An airport, to make it safe, reliable
and predictable requires, in our scope alone, 113 systems and a lot of them interlink
and all that needs to come together,” says Brightman.

So how does client Oman Airports Management Company feel about it all? “We have
a good relationship,” says Brightman. “We wouldn’t be able to walk this place so freely
if we didn’t,” he observes.

Local contractors

Brightman says the client is particularly pleased with the extent to which work was
done by local contractors wherever possible. In the civils JV, 25% of work went to
Omani firms. But it goes beyond the direct labour force.

“Our on-site caterer – that was their first job. They now cater for the Royal Palace and
the VIP lounges here. They own restaurants in the city centre,” explains Brightman. It’s
just one example but there are others.

“We’ve done a lot to develop local contractors and local people,” he says. “It’s fun too,”
he adds. “It means you get to meet a lot of local people who want to learn. So we
approach these things with open minds.”

The effort has not gone unnoticed by the client. “We are delighted that so many local
people and businesses were a part of it – the impact runs deep in our community, and
we owe much of that to the collaborative ethos and teamwork throughout,” says Oman
Airports Management Company chief executive Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmad Al-Hosni.

“So far, feedback from passengers who have experienced the new airport has been
overwhelmingly positive. We’re confident Muscat International Airport will soon rank
among the best in the world.”

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