The Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) has received bids for the roads and utilities infrastructure package for the Muscat Exhibition and Convention Centre project.

 Omran received bids from seven contractors on 9 January.

The bidders are:

• Galfar Engineering & Contracting (local)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• Carillion Alawi (UK)
• Khalid bin Ahmed & Sons (local)
• Al-Adrak Trading & Contracting
• Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) (Athens based)
• National United Engineering & Construction Company (local)

The infrastructure package is the first contract to be tendered on the convention centre project. Omran invited companies to prequalify for four construction packages in November 2010, but it has taken more than a year for the client to receive submissions for a package.

The other contracts to be tendered include the packages to build the 25,000-square-metre exhibition hall, car parking and energy centre, the 3,000-capacity convention centre and a five-star hotel.

In January last year, Omran formally broke ground on the convention centre project, located on the outskirts of Muscat, about 4 kilometres from the airport. Omran awarded the local Al-Awazi International a OR2.7m ($7m) contract for the site preparation and enabling works package for the convention and exhibition centre project in October last year.

In April 2010, UK-based RMJM was awarded the main consultancy contract, which involves design and engineering work for the project. Canada’s Hanscomb & Company saw off competition from eight other consultants to win the quantity surveying contract for the development.

US-based WATG is masterplanning the development. WATG is also working on another major project in the Muscat area, the House of Musical Arts. The firm was appointed as the architectural consultant for the opera building and is also involved with the design work on the landscape garden (MEED 9:4:10).