Oman’s Transport & Communications Ministry has invited groups to bid for the contract to build a dual carriageway for the Izz to Adam section of the Nizwa to Thumrait road.

Companies have until 14 March to submit bids for the construction project.

The project is part of a broader scheme to upgrade and convert the road from Nizwa, in the northeast of Oman, to Thumrait, in the southern area of the sultanate, into a dual carriageway.

In December 2010, the Transport and Communication Ministry tendered the contract to provide consultancy services on the project to turn the Adam to Thumrait section of the Nizwa to Thumrait road into a dual carriageway. Companies have until 7 February to submit bids for the project (MEED 8:12:10).

Earlier in 2010, the Transport Ministry awarded three contracts totalling OR64.1m for construction works on the road.

The ministry split the fourth phase of the rehabilitation works on the road into three separate packages. India’s Larsen & Toubro won the first package with a bid of OR8.1m ($21m), the local Nasr Arabian Company won the second package with a bid of OR24m, and the local Oman Gulf Company was awarded the last package with a price of OR31.9m.

For the first package, Larsen & Toubro will carry out rehabilitation work on 30 kilometres of road and bridges. The contract duration is one year.

The second package with Nasr Arabian is for general road improvements and building a new junction at Muntasar. It is expected to take two and a half years to complete.

Oman Gulf Company is also scheduled to take two and a half years to complete the third package, which involves building seven new junctions together with general rehabilitation works (MEED 10:5:10).