Oman Railway Tender Deadline Pushed to Mid January

The tender deadline for the first phase of the Oman Railway Network has been pushed back to January 18 after requests by a number of prequalified consortia. It was originally set for mid December.

The tender is a design and build contract for the construction of the railway between Al Ain and Sohar, that will form part of the GCC Railway Network. It passes through very difficult mountainous terrain and will require 10 tunnels as well as 70 viaducts.

The contract will involve design and build of the railway, as well as depots, stations and maintenance facilities along the route. The winning bidder will subcontract the communications and signalling to another company that is will bid through a separate tender process.

This is the first phase of nine planned, and upon completion will form a template for future design and build contracts to complete the network in the coming years. Along with the other five GCC countries, it is hoped that this first phase will be completed by 2018 so goods and people can move quickly across the GCC.