Oman’s Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) has invited consultants to bid by 3 July for the engineering consultancy services contract for the design and construction supervision of roads that extend the existing National Route 32 (NR32) road from Duqm Airport to Ras Markaz.

The roads, to be executed in three phases, will extend 51 kilometres southwards to serve future industrial, commercial and residential developments in the area.

It is understood that Sezad plans to complete all infrastructure projects related to Duqm Port by 2020.

In August 2016, the authority awarded the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting an RO60.7m ($157.6m) contract for maritime works at the port.

The construction contract covers dredging the harbour basin to up to six metres and land reclamation to enable the construction of port service buildings.

The contract also covers the construction of breakwaters with a total length of 3.4km, and an 850m fixed pier for fishing purposes.

In late 2016, Sezad signed a $265m loan with the China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to finance the construction of a commercial terminal at the port.