Sunday, Nov 22, 2015

Muscat: Oman is putting the finishing touches on the 680km-long road linking it with Saudi Arabia. It is expected to be a milestone as the road will link the two largest GCC countries by land for the first time.

Muscat has spent more than 200 million Omani riyals (Dh1.9 billion) on building the road while Saudi Arabia has spent around one billion Saudi riyals (Dh979 million); 160km of the road is in Oman while 566km is in Saudi Arabia.

In Oman, the road begins from Tanam in the province of Ibri and passes through oilfields until it reaches the Oman-Saudi border in an area called the Empty Quarter.

The road has been heralded as an ‘engineering marvel’ as it was built on the largest contiguous sand desert in the world covering an area of about 640,000 square kilometres.

The project involved building sand bridges between tall sand dunes. Over 130 million cubic metres of sand was transported to construct the bridges, which is equivalent in size to 26 pyramids.

Economists say the new road will give tourism and trade a huge boost in both countries.

Zakariyah Al Mahrami, a security expert, said security patrols will be deployed around the clock on the Omani side of the border to ensure the safety of travellers.

Salim Al Harthi, police chief of the Dahira governorate, said that a customs and trade building has been completed ahead of the official opening of the road in the coming months.

Petrol stations are currently being built along the road as well as restaurants, mosques and hotels, an official at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry told Gulf News.

The official, who declined to be named, said that there has been a huge demand for investment along the road.

By Fahad Al Mukrashi ?Correspondent

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