Work on Batinah Expressway Phase III facing delays

OMAN TRANSPORT

Monday 21st, November 2016

The Batinah Expressway project is facing some delays due to some issues with the contractor, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) confirmed on Monday. In a statement, MoTC said the work is progressing well on the Batinah Expressway project, except on package three, which is facing “serious delays”. It said the contractor has not been able to meet his contractual obligations due to “his own reasons”. It is not linked to issues such as non-payment of dues by the ministry. MoTC said it is considering legal action against the contractor. A new contractor will be named for the project.

The statement clarified that the sub-contractors’ work with the main contractors and their agreements are not directly involved with the company.

MoTC said it is working on transferring the payment dues to main contractors and admitted there have been some delays in this regard. The ministry recently met a group of sub-contractors and owners of small businesses to ensure their rights and presence in all major projects. The Batinah Expressway is one of the biggest road projects in the country that extends Muscat Expressway all the way to the Oman-UAE border of Khatmat Malaha in Shinas with a total length of 272 km. Vital for developing the economic potential around the Sohar Industrial Port and the special economic zone, the route will reduce travel time between Muscat and the UAE by almost 60 minutes.

The project has been divided it into six packages, including 3.75m wide lanes on each side, a 12m wide traffic island, 3m external asphalt shoulders, 2m internal asphalt shoulders, 31 Wadi crossing bridges and 23 intersections. The project also includes 25 wadi crossing bridges and a box culvert with various sizes, truck weighing stations, locations for ambulance and parking for Royal Oman Police cars. As per details available on the website, the third package of the project starts from Wadi al Hamili in Suwaiq to Hafeet in Saham, which is 46.2km long. The package includes five intersections, four flyovers, four wadi crossing bridges and one crossing for camels. It also includes 220 box culverts.