22 November 2015
Oman's first direct road link with Saudi Arabia, currently in an advanced stage of development, is among a number of freight corridors identified by the recently unveiled Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy 2040 (SOLS 2040) as key to achieving the nation's aspirations as a global logistics hub.
SOLS 2040, an ambitious road map for catapulting the Sultanate into the ranks of the world's top 10 logistics-centric economies by the year 2040, lists the Oman-Saudi carriageway as one of five key logistics corridors that if suitably developed can help fuel the growth of freight traffic within and beyond national borders.
When completed, tentatively by around the middle of next year, it will enable the flow of traffic from Sohar Port on the Sea of Oman coast all the way to Riyadh in the Saudi heartland. Importantly, the direct route slashes the distance travelled by as much as 800 km, when compared with the existing, roughly 2,000 km indirect route via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"This is potentially a major new trade route that will confer a significant advantage as soon as it is completed," says the SOLS 2040 report of the Sohar-Saudi link. "The infrastructure is largely completed, and this should be opened without further delay," it stresses.
Starting on the Oman side at Tanam in Ibri Wilayat, the strategically important carriageway spans a 160 km distance via oil field areas until it reaches the Sultanate's border with Saudi Arabia in Rub al Khali (The Empty Quarter). From the border, it runs a further 520 km through vast desert expanses and links up with the Batha-Haradh via Shaybah. The Batha-Haradh road proceeds onward to Al Kharj and eventually to Riyadh.
According to media reports out of Saudi Arabia, both countries are constructing border facilities and administrative support infrastructure which when largely in place during 2016, will allow for the commencement of direct overland freight flows between the two countries.
Aside from the Sohar-Saudi road link, the Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy also envisions the potential for a major logistics corridor linking Sohar and the North Batinah Governorate with the major cargo and trade hubs of the northern Emirates, specifically Dubai and Sharjah.
The document warns however that the logistics potential of this corridor can only be fully realised if existing bottlenecks and impediments are suitably addressed, especially on the UAE side of the corridor.
"The planned UAE border crossing is a natural chokepoint," the report says. "The two border crossings into Ar Rawdah at Hatta and Madam are major impediments to the free flow of cargo, taking the number of control points to three. This is compounded by the fact that the road passes through more than one Emirate and is therefore subject to several police inspection agencies," it states.
Acknowledging that these issues cannot be resolved by the Omani side alone, the Logistics Strategy nevertheless moots the establishment of a new direct major arterial road between Sohar and Dubai/Sharjah connecting with the North Batinah Muscat Expressway.
Improvement in logistics also has the potential to fuel traffic flows between Muscat and North Batinah governorate, according to the strategy document. These improvements, it notes, will also drive cross-border traffic growth from the Northern Emirates through Madinat Malaha and Al Wajaja.
While the capacity of the planned North Batinah Expressway is deemed adequate for the medium-term, the report stresses the need for adequate capacity to be built to cater for future expansion. "The North Batinah Expressway should be prioritised with a completion date of not more than two years," it affirms.
Other freight corridors with strong a logistics potential are the Sohar --Buraimi/Al Ain stretch and the Salalah -- Yemen corridor. Salalah, given its strategic location, is "well-placed to act as a hub port for Yemen", according to SOLS 2040 road map.
Oman's first direct road link with Saudi Arabia, currently in an advanced stage of development, is among a number of freight corridors identified by the recently unveiled Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy 2040 (SOLS 2040) as key to achieving the nation's aspirations as a global logistics hub.
SOLS 2040, an ambitious road map for catapulting the Sultanate into the ranks of the world's top 10 logistics-centric economies by the year 2040, lists the Oman-Saudi carriageway as one of five key logistics corridors that if suitably developed can help fuel the growth of freight traffic within and beyond national borders.
When completed, tentatively by around the middle of next year, it will enable the flow of traffic from Sohar Port on the Sea of Oman coast all the way to Riyadh in the Saudi heartland. Importantly, the direct route slashes the distance travelled by as much as 800 km, when compared with the existing, roughly 2,000 km indirect route via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"This is potentially a major new trade route that will confer a significant advantage as soon as it is completed," says the SOLS 2040 report of the Sohar-Saudi link. "The infrastructure is largely completed, and this should be opened without further delay," it stresses.
Starting on the Oman side at Tanam in Ibri Wilayat, the strategically important carriageway spans a 160 km distance via oil field areas until it reaches the Sultanate's border with Saudi Arabia in Rub al Khali (The Empty Quarter). From the border, it runs a further 520 km through vast desert expanses and links up with the Batha-Haradh via Shaybah. The Batha-Haradh road proceeds onward to Al Kharj and eventually to Riyadh.
According to media reports out of Saudi Arabia, both countries are constructing border facilities and administrative support infrastructure which when largely in place during 2016, will allow for the commencement of direct overland freight flows between the two countries.
Aside from the Sohar-Saudi road link, the Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy also envisions the potential for a major logistics corridor linking Sohar and the North Batinah Governorate with the major cargo and trade hubs of the northern Emirates, specifically Dubai and Sharjah.
The document warns however that the logistics potential of this corridor can only be fully realised if existing bottlenecks and impediments are suitably addressed, especially on the UAE side of the corridor.
"The planned UAE border crossing is a natural chokepoint," the report says. "The two border crossings into Ar Rawdah at Hatta and Madam are major impediments to the free flow of cargo, taking the number of control points to three. This is compounded by the fact that the road passes through more than one Emirate and is therefore subject to several police inspection agencies," it states.
Acknowledging that these issues cannot be resolved by the Omani side alone, the Logistics Strategy nevertheless moots the establishment of a new direct major arterial road between Sohar and Dubai/Sharjah connecting with the North Batinah Muscat Expressway.
Improvement in logistics also has the potential to fuel traffic flows between Muscat and North Batinah governorate, according to the strategy document. These improvements, it notes, will also drive cross-border traffic growth from the Northern Emirates through Madinat Malaha and Al Wajaja.
While the capacity of the planned North Batinah Expressway is deemed adequate for the medium-term, the report stresses the need for adequate capacity to be built to cater for future expansion. "The North Batinah Expressway should be prioritised with a completion date of not more than two years," it affirms.
Other freight corridors with strong a logistics potential are the Sohar --Buraimi/Al Ain stretch and the Salalah -- Yemen corridor. Salalah, given its strategic location, is "well-placed to act as a hub port for Yemen", according to SOLS 2040 road map.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
