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Oman’s Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) have invited Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance of the Salalah-Thumrait Truck Road (STTR).
The 67-kilometre road, the first of its kind in Oman, will be designed specifically for heavy vehicles and will be developed under a Public-Private partnership (PPP) agreement, a public invite said.
The last date for submitting EOI documents is 19 December 2022.
A May 2020 report in local daily Oman Observer had noted that the project would be the first toll road to be procured under the Kingdom’s 2019 PPP law.
The report said a dual carriage way with a design speed of 110km hour was being studied as the current roads (National Road 31) don’t allow adequate truck flow due to the high gradients of the road and short radius curves resulting in very low vehicle speed and high travel time.
The report said upsurge in mining, quarrying and farming activity in Thamrait has led to a sharp increase in the number of heavy trucks and commercial vehicles headed to Salalah city and its transhipment hub. Moreover, increased commercial activity at the Salalah Port and trade connections with Yemen justify the need for a dedicated road for heavy vehicles.
(Writing by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)
