Oman Rail has invited contractors to prequalify for main contracts on the sultanate’s $15bn national railway, to build the line connecting Buraimi with Duqm and Salalah.

The deadline for submitting documents is 1 July.

Two detailed design, engineering, procurement and construction packages on segments 2 and 4 are open for prequalification.

The first package is for the design and complex engineering work on segment 2 of the railway, which covers 240 kilometres. It includes earthworks, tunnels, bridges, structures track works, stations, depots, yards, facilities and utilities.

It may be extended to cover segment 3, 4a and 4b, or the majority of the 2,444km railway, at the discretion of the client.

The second is for design and construction of conventional civil infrastructure works including earthworks, structures track works, stations, depots, yards, facilities and utilities on segment 4c.

The joint ventures that prequalified for the first segment are automatically prequalified to bid for the second package, as long as they retain the same composition.

Five bidding groups have passed the technical evaluation stage for the contract to build segment 1.

They are understood to be:

• Larsen & Toubro (India) / FCC Construction (Spain) / Khalid bin Ahmed & Sons (local)
• Salini Impregilo (Italy)
• China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China) / SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Porr Bau (Austria) / Yuksel Insaat (Turkey) / Sarooj Construction Company (local) / Daewoo(South Korea)
• Saipem (Italy) / Rizzani de Eccher (Italy) / Dogus Insaat (Turkey)

Oman Rail received commercial submissions from 11 consortiums on 1 March, having received technical bids on 18 January.

The first sector to be tendered was split into three packages, covering a 207km stretch from Sohar to Buraimi of double-track, mixed freight and passenger non-electrified railway line. It will run across difficult terrain, making the engineering complex.

Oman Rail hopes to award the contract and start work by the end of 2015.

A consortium led by Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas won the $149m project management contract for Sector A.