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Transport in Oman

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This article is about transport in Oman.

Highways

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Sultan Qaboos Street

total: 62,240 km
paved: 29,685 km (including 1943 km of expressways)
unpaved: 30,545 km (2012)[1]

Oman is consistently ranked among the ten countries with the best road infrastructure, famously known for its resilient and efficient road design in a relatively mountainous and uneven terrain. It is the second Arab nation among the countries alongside its neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.[2]

Oman has three expressway-grade highways. Al Batinah Coastal Road runs along the Batinah Coast of the Sea of Oman. It forks near Shinas, with one section leading inland to Wadi Hatta and another to Fujairah. The speed limit is generally 120 km/h. In the Muscat area, this highway is known as Sultan Qaboos Street, and it is the trunk road running through the city. Outside the Muscat area, the interchanges take the form of roundabouts spaced approximately 7 km apart. Each roundabout contains unique features to enliven the streetscape. The roundabouts are named for driver navigation.

The other highway is Muscat Expressway, a 54-kilometre[3] highway running from Al Qurum area of Muscat to Halban area on the outskirts of Muscat. Al Batinah Expressway is a 256-kilometre, 8-lane highway that continues from the Muscat Expressway in Halban up to the Oman-UAE border at Khatmat Malaha.[4]

Other roads in Muscat Governorate and some cities such as Sohar, Salalah and Nizwa are dual-carriageways, with four or six lanes each with a speed limit ranging from 60 to 120 km/h; while in the rest of Oman, the roads are mostly single-carriageways.

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  • United Arab Emirates: Oman has several good road connections at Buraimi (Al Ain) via Route 3, Waddi Hatta (Wajaja), Khamat Mulahah (Fujairah) via Route 1 and via Route 2 in Musandam, Bukha.
  • Yemen: Route 47: Raysut to Sarfait in Oman - Yemen border. The road then goes to Hawf, Al Faydami, Al Ghaydah. Another road is from Thumrait to Al Mazyonah in Oman - Yemen border. The road then goes to Shisan, Al Kurah, Al Ghaydah.
  • Saudi Arabia: Desert road through Al Mashash. However, there is a new road under construction to link the two countries.

Railways

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There are no mainline railways in Oman, but some are planned, including links to adjacent countries. The narrow gauge Al Hoota Cave Train takes tourists into the cave complex on a journey of 4 minutes across a 400m distance. The estimated total length of the future Oman National Railway network is 2,135 km. It will be divided into several segments linking Oman's borders with the UAE to Muscat, as part of the GCC Railway Network and also to the southern parts of the country - Port of Al Duqm, the Port of Salalah and the Yemen border.[5] However, the Gulf Railway project was suspended in 2016. The government of Oman announced it will proceed with its own planned national railway network.

Timeline

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2008

Joint Gulf Railway proposed to link gulf states at cost of $14 billion by 2014.[6]

2010

Bids are invited for construction of a rail network in three phases: The first phase would be a double-track electrified coastal route from Masqat to Suhar; the second phase would be an extension from Masqat to Daq; the third phase an extension from Suhar to Al Ain in the UAE.[7] Later, an extension to Salalah was considered. The construction was expected to start in 2012, and to be completed by 2018.[8]

2011

In September, the Supreme Committee for Town Planning, which was in charge of the project since the beginning, handed it to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC). Shortly, the Ministry of Transport began preparing for launching initial tenders for project design and consultancy.[9]

2012

In September, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, through the Government Tender Board, announced it will re-float its tender for the first phase into three stages: one to get the preliminary design, another for the detailed design and building, and third for the management consultancy and supervision services.[10]

2013

In March, the Ministry of Transport announced the opening of a tender for the preliminary design of nine freight yards for the first phase of the project. The largest yards, at Sohar and Duqm, are planned at either end of the network, as they will be intended to manage the freight volumes handled by the industrial ports at those sites.[11] In July, through assistance from German company Dorsch-Gruppe, the Government Tender Board opened the competition for the first stage with a 13.6 million Omani riyals (US$35.3 million) contract that covers preliminary design consultancy services, which was awarded to Italian company Italferr.[12][13][14]

In September, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, the Omani Minister of Transport and Communications, asked private companies to think about investing in the railway project.[15] At this point, the project was reported to have created 70,000 new jobs in the Sultanate.[16]

2014

In 2014, Oman Rail announced a pre-qualification tender for the initial stage of the network, which includes providing infrastructure technology systems and the construction of the first section that extends from Oman's border to Al Buraimi, UAE, to the port of Sohar. The cost of this stage was estimated at $2.6 billion, out of the estimated total cost of $14 billion.[17] The first phase was supposed to include a 242-km line from Al Misfah in Muscat to Sohar Port, with a 20-km link to Muscat Central Station and an 8-km spur to a railway yard at Sohar. There is also a 486-km line from Muscat to Duqm Port and 84 km between Sinaw and Ibra in Oman’s east. In addition to a 136-km track from Suhar to Al Ain in the UAE, with a 27-km spur to the town of Buraimi, and a 58-km track from Suhar to Khatmat Al Malaha, another border crossing.[18]

2015

In February 2015, the Government Tender Board selected a consortium headed by Spanish engineering contractor Técnicas Reunidas to provide project management consultancy services for the network.[19]

2016

The GCC Railway project was suspended in 2016 after some partner countries decided to hold their rail plans due to the decline in oil price.[20] However, the government of Oman had announced that it will continue with its national rail network.[21][22]

2021

In June 2021, the government of Oman announced the planning for the first metro and passenger rail services that would link Muscat City and its major airports. The metro network would extend from Ruwi and Muttrah to Muscat International Airport and Seeb.[23][24]

2023

In February 2023, an agreement was signed for development of a route linking the port of Sohar to the UAE railway network. It will be overseen by the Oman and Etihad Rail Company.[25]

Pipelines

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crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km

Ports and harbors

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Gulf of Oman

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Arabian Sea

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Merchant marine

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total: 3 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 16,306 GT/8,210 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (1999 est.)

Airports

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Airports with scheduled air service

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Airports - with unpaved runways

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total: 136
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 56
914 to 1,523 m: 37
under 914 m: 35 (1999 est.)

See also

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

References

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  1. ^ "Middle East :: Oman — the World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". The World Factbook. CIA. 19 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Roads quality by country, around the world".
  3. ^ "Muscat Expressway". Parsons Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-05-06.
  4. ^ "Oman's 8-lane Batinah Expressway to be ready by 2017". Times of Oman. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28.
  5. ^ "Oman Rail". 2015-07-15. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. ^ "Railways Africa".
  7. ^ "Railway Gazette: News in Brief". Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2010-07-20. Suhar to Al-Ayn in UAE
  8. ^ "Oman officials announce further rail project plans". Construction Week. August 8, 2010. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  9. ^ "Unwin, Sir Raymond, (2 Nov. 1863–1940), late Chief Technical Officer for Building and Town Planning. Ministry of Health", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u218445, retrieved 2021-10-09
  10. ^ "Oman rail project retendered as three packages". Construction Week. September 11, 2012.
  11. ^ "Oman tenders nine GCC rail network freight yards". Construction Week. March 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "Oman signs $35 mln railway consultancy deal with Italferr - ONA". Reuters. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  13. ^ "Oman's great transformation: expanding rail networks to form ME transportation hub". Al Bawaba. July 21, 2013. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  14. ^ railwaysignalling.eu (2014-02-10). "Italferr wins the bid for Oman's rail project". railwaysignalling.eu. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  15. ^ "Introduction of railway in Oman is keenly awaited". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  16. ^ "Oman railway to create 70,000 jobs: report". Construction Week. March 11, 2013.
  17. ^ "Oman's rail project on track". Oxford Business Group. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  18. ^ "Track to the future: A regional rail network is expected to help realise trade potential". Oxford Business Group. 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  19. ^ "Oman Rail project management contract awarded". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  20. ^ "Oman rail 'still on track' say officials". Times of Oman. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  21. ^ "Oman suspends railway project". International Railway Journal. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  22. ^ "Oman's national railway ambitions chug on despite delay in GCC rail network completion". Al Bawaba.
  23. ^ "Oman plans first metro and passenger rail service". Global Construction Review. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  24. ^ "Muscat plans light rail metro". Times of Oman. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  25. ^ "$3 billion UAE-Oman rail network to create jobs and boost economy, officials say". The National News UAS. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  26. ^ "India accedes to Ashgabat agreement". The Hans India. March 24, 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-11.

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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference theglobaleconomy_com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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