When you enter Bahrain International Airport (BIA), you enter the gateway to the Middle East. First opened in 1927, BIA is the Gulf’s oldest international airport. Now, after a four-year modernisation project, the state-of-the-art facility is four times the size of the old terminal, and will increase the airport’s capacity from nine to 14 million passengers a year.

“The project was delayed by almost a decade. When construction finally started in February of 2016, we were so excited. Firstly because this project means a lot to our region, but also because we had secured the contract to supply both premium interior and exterior coatings and performance coatings for the new passenger terminal building,” says Ramkrishnan Hariharan in Jotun Bahrain.

Benefits of early involvement

The new passenger terminal building is equipped with new and improved state-of-the-art technology that will improve passenger convenience, safety and security.

One of the things about an airport that most passengers only notice as a part of the overall impression, but that can be notable for the longevity and protection of the building itself, is the choice of deco coating and performance coating for walls, steel constructions and bridges.

“We were involved early in the project, and were able to share our knowledge, especially in regards to steel protection and anti-corrosion yield with the other contractors. Among other things, we arranged seminar sessions for the project’s architects so that they could keep abreast of the latest industry standards for steel protection,” Hariharan explains.

Reduced environmental impact

When it came to protecting the Airport’s steel construction, the choice fell on Jotun’s SteelMaster 1200WF, an efficient waterborne thin-film fire protector that has been designed for performance and reduced environmental impact.

“The SteelMaster is a great product to use in airports, and has been used at other Middle East airports as well. As the product is water-based, it requires less coating to cover structural steel for 120 minutes fire protection. It’s also very easy to apply, promoting greater efficiency during application,” Hariharan explains.

Working cross-borders

For Hariharan and the rest of the Bahrain team, the project ended up being both a display of synergy between protective and decorative teams, but also a display of how working cross-borders can yield great results.

“In order to ensure that the contractor had peace of mind when it came to coordination and follow-ups upon installation, we coordinated with our colleagues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the intumescent scope. SteelMaster, along with a topcoat, was to be applied in UAE and transported to Bahrain for erection. Together we built up trust and confidence and ensured excellent follow up service.”

“As a team I believe we did this quite successfully,” Hariharan concludes.

Part of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030 programme, the new terminal is valued at USD 1.1Bn. Promoting its theme of Art, Culture & Travel, Jotun was a successful partner to supply its range of performance and decorative coatings to offer a world class experience and protection.

The Jotun products supplied to Bahrain International Airport were:

• Fenomastic Pure CL Emulsion Matt
• Jotashield Colourlast Matt
• Jotamastic 90
• Hardtop XP
• Jotafloor Topcoat
• SteelMaster 600WF & 1200WF