Oman Rail to award consultancy contracts soon

08 March 2017

Study to prove mineral reserves in the sultanate is underway

Oman Railway Company expects to shortlist and award within a month three consultants for the multifunctional consultancy package for its planned mineral railway project.

The contracts will be on a call-off basis which means Oman Rail will be able to access the selected consultants’ services within a two year-period, according to company spokespersons.

Some of the companies that have submitted an offer for the consultancy contracts in December include:

  • Aecom (US)
  • Atkins (UK)
  • Italferr / Italian Railway State Company Group (Italy)
  • Parsons (US)

The scope of the consultancy package includes the development of operation and maintenance models, infrastructure, rolling stock, ports, mines and auxiliary services, among others.

Nathan Wiles, Oman Rail general manager, also said the Mining Development Oman (Oman), a subsidiary of the Public Authority of Mining, is conducting a study to establish the proven reserves for gypsum and limestone in the region where the mineral railway will be built.

The result of the study will help determine the procurement model to be pursued for the railway.

“If the [mining] industry is able to prove resources and reserves and the business case works well then it makes sense to proceed using a traditional government-funded procurement model,” Wiles said. If the opportunity is more long-term rather than presenting an immediate value, the other option for Oman Rail would be to use a public-private partnership (PPP) by bringing in a concessionaire who will sit between it and the offtakers of the mineral products.

If the traditional EPC model will be pursued, the tender will be open only to the 17 consortiums that have been prequalified for the relevant segments of the national railway project.

A PPP model, however, will entail the involvement of mining companies and other entities involved in export credit and contract financing to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Wiles said.

The indicative lengths of the proposed mineral line branches are as follows:

  • Duqm Port to Amal junction (295km)
  • Amal to Shuwaymiyah (40km)
  • Amal to Manji (70km)
  • Amal junction to Thamrait (200km)

Shuwaymiyah, Manji and Thamrait are understood to hold rich reserves of limestone and gypsum. The proposed mineral line will seek to optimise the use of the rail network for use in heavy haul bulk railway operations. The project will be ‘built for purpose’ and underpinned by heavy haul standards and traffic control systems.

The line is envisaged to connect with Segment 4A, which under the original national railway programme will terminate in Amal. Amal will serve as the hub of the mineral line that will branch out to Shuwaymiyah, Manji and Thamrait. From Amal, a separate line will run to Duqm Port, from where the mineral cargoes will be exported to international markets

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