Austria's Strabagis low bidder at RO 4.6 million ($11.8 million) for the contract to build the first section of the Al-Ashkhara-Shannah road. The cheapest bid from Strabag, which offered three prices, was 14.9 per cent lower than the second lowest bid of RO 5.3 million ($13.5 million), which came from the local Khalid bin Ahmed & Sons. Ten companies priced the contract, which calls for the construction of a 62-kilometre-long, seven-metre-wide stretch of road linking the Al-Sharqiyah and Al-Wusta regions (MEED 16:7:04).