Oman’s Transport and Communications Ministry has floated a new tender for a contract worth an estimated $160m to build a 45km road between Ubaylah and Fayyad. Bids for the contract were initially floated in 2011. The submission date for the new tender is 18 November.

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

Earlier this month, the ministry invited contractors to bid for two tenders involving road works in the sultanate.

The first tender is for the construction of a 35-kilometre road linking Taqah to Mirbat in the governorate of Dhofar. The road will be a key stretch that connects Salalah with the wilayats of Sadah, Kasik and Shuwaymiyah on Dhofar’s east coast. The local Al-Manarah Engineering Consultancy is the consultant on the scheme, which is valued at $50m and includes building flyovers and associated facilities. The deadline for submitting bids is 28 October.

The ministry has also retendered a deal to build an asphalt road from Al-Sunaynah to Al-Fath and Al-Rhiani in Oman. The tender, estimated to be worth $50m, was initially floated in 2011.

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.