Oman’s Transport and Communications Ministry has received bids for a contract to carry out reclamation work at Sohar Industrial Port, which is located in the northeast of Oman.

The ministry received bids from four contractors for the contract on the 15 June.

Bam International, from the Netherlands, submitted the lowest bid with a price of OR15.7m ($40.8m). This was 5.4 per cent lower than the OR16.6m bid submitted by the second lowest bidder, India’s Afcons Infrastructure Limited (Afcons).

The local Desert Line Projects submitted the third lowest bid with a price of OR17.5m. Belgium’s Jan De Nul submitted a bid of OR24.6m.

The Sohar port project is part of the sultanate’s plans to upgrade infrastructure in the area.

The Transport Ministry recently awarded the local/Austrian Strabag a OR27.6m second package of infrastructure works on its new Sohar airport project.

Strabag beat six other bidders to win the infrastructure deal at the new airport, which is located 10 kilometres northwest of Sohar city.

The contract covers the construction of a 4,000-metre-long runway with turning loops at the end. It also involves the construction of a full length taxiway, a terminal building and cargo aprons along with the installation of navigation aids, fuel and fire fighting systems (MEED 22:6:10).