Local contractor Khalid Bin Ahmed & Sons has submitted the low bid of RO30.2m ($78.5m) for a contract to build a new road between Al-Ubaylah and Fayyad in Oman. The only other company to take part in the bidding was the local National United Engineering & Contracting, which submitted a price of RO33.9m.  

The tender was floated by the sultanate’s Transport & Communications Ministry.

Oman has recently issued a flurry of large road deals, as it looks to bolster its economy by developing more modern and integrated transport infrastructure. The government has earmarked $8bn for the construction of 12,704 kilometres of road projects, as land transport continues to be the main means of getting around the sultanate.

Last month, the local Galfar Engineering submitted the low bid for a contract to build a stretch of road between Izki and Izz. A total of eight firms submitted prices for the tender. Galfar’s low bid of RO26.6m was followed by the local Premier International Projects’ bid of RO26.9m. India’s Nagarjuna Construction Company submitted the third-lowest bid of RO27.8m.

The biggest road scheme being built is the 260km Batinah Expressway, which will be Oman’s first dual four-lane road. The $2.6bn project will connect Sohar, Muscat and the UAE, and is expected to reduce the travel time between Muscat and the UAE border by at least an hour.