MUSCAT -- The proposed sea taxi connecting Muscat Governorate with Barka and all the adjoining wilayats en-route will have a substantial impact on the tourism sector while giving a major fillip to national economy.
The National Ferries Company (NFC) has expressed its interest to launch marine taxis in Muscat Governorate last week the pilot project and other vital facts and figures were submitted to the concerned ministries and to the municipality last week. "The sea taxi service will have substantial impact on the tourism sector and on the economy of the nation as a whole", NFC sources told the Observer.
"A number of boat jetties across the coastal areas of these stations, feeder services, and allied businesses will help flourish commercial activities in these areas while collectively contributing to the country in the long run", he added. The proposal, based on a comprehensive traffic study for Muscat Governorate on the short, medium and long run up to 2030 envisages the increasing traffic on the main highways in the years to come and to resolve the bottlenecks to a great extent.
The study, recently completed by Muscat Municipality in tie-up with government agencies, came out with many recommendations including providing transport through the ferries company with an aim to alleviate traffic congestion in the Muscat Governorate's streets. "The project which is in the feasibility study stage will encourage mass transportation means and boost tourism sites on the Muscat Governorate coasts", Mahdi bin Mohammed al Abdwani, CEO of the NFC, had earlier said.
He said the proposed marine boats will be provided with features and technical specifications that suit the Omani marine environment. "Moreover, these kinds of boats don't need costly facilities during the embarking and disembarking processes, as the terminal will be only a point for transferring employees, students and tourists to and from the marine boats," he said. Al Abdwani hoped that the service can also be implemented in Musandam Governorate to cover the residential areas in the wilayats of Musandam which could not be accessed by express ferry boats.
"We can also implement the sea taxi service in the Musandam Governorate to serve the residential areas which cannot be accessed by speed ferry boats. The success of the service depends largely upon availing land transport to and from the marine terminals for the boats", he added. National Ferries Company is a major contributor to the maritime transport infrastructure and development in the Sultanate.
It has been observed that the long coastline of the Sultanate make this ferry service a necessity for the population and tourists alike as it provides vital links between ports while saving the travelling time. On passage between destinations, passengers get to enjoy the picturesque and majestic coastline of the country by relaxing in the high comfortable seats and first class service onboard.
© Oman Daily Observer 2013
