MUSCAT -- Well-known contractor Consolidated Contractors Co (CCC) has been awarded a contract to execute the Sohar Port Interchange project at a cost of RO 49.145 million. The project is one of several important transport-related infrastructure improvements under way in the Sohar and wider Batinah region. It is designed not only to serve the Port of Sohar, but also a number of major industrial undertakings under development in the vicinity of the port. Besides streamlining traffic flows along the Batinah highway, the project will also enable the smooth flow of heavy vehicles between the port and industries located on the other side of the highway.
As part of its contract, CCC Oman will construct a cloverleaf interchange, along with two subsidiary flyovers, and some 8.4 kilometres of two-lane access roads leading to the newly operational smelter of Sohar Aluminium. Further, a 3.5 kilometre stretch of the existing Batinah highway will be realigned and suitably integrated with the interchange. Port access roads and link roads will be streamlined and strengthened, while a number of roundabouts will be constructed. The biggest beneficiary of the new interchange project will be the $2.4 billion smelter of Sohar Aluminium, which is located on the other side of the highway, some 11 kilometres from the port.
The smelter's raw material requirements are transported from the port in a round the clock operation involving a fleet of trucks. An average 115 loads of raw materials alumina, calcined coke and liquid pitch will be trucked daily from temporary storage facilities at the port to the smelter site. Finished aluminium products will also be trucked from the smelter to the port at regular frequencies.
Construction of the Sohar Port interchange project will be fast-tracked in view of the challenging 12-month timeframe stipulated for its completion. The contractor is mobilising a 1,500-strong army of workers, who will be operating on double shifts (day and night) to ensure the timely completion of the project.
As with all major transport related initiatives, the Ministry of Transport and Communications is overseeing the implementation of the Sohar Port interchange project. Parsons International are design and supervision consultants. Transport and logistics infrastructure along the Batinah is poised to develop significantly as industrial and economic activity peaks over the coming years. New investments in land and rail networks are envisioned in tandem with the development of a huge Special Economic Zone alongside the highway.
By Conrad Prabhu
© Oman Daily Observer 2008
