The Oman Ministry of Transport and Communications has invited bids from contractors for the construction of Section 2 of the Bidbid-Sur dualisation project.

Gharbia Enterprises, Consolidated Contractors Company, Ozkar Construction, Larsen & Toubro (Oman), Yuksel Construction, Strabag Oman, Wade Adams Oman and STFA are some of the companies to have shown interest in the project, reported the Oman Daily Observer?.

The OMR100m ($260m) project, which covers 132km from Ibra to Sur, is the second part of the dualisation project of the 250km-long Bidbid-Sur carriageway that connects the capital region with key wilayats (provinces) in the Sharqiya North and South Governorates.

Section 2 of the project is expected to include the construction of 14 interchange bridges.

These bridges, together with four ‘wadi’ bridges, are a part of the government’s efforts to facilitate an interface between the carriageway and local road networks, catering to various towns and villages adjoining the route.

Engineering consultancy firm Cowi & Partners has been appointed as the design consultant for the section, to provide supervision services over its three-year construction period.

The contracts for the first two phases of the Bidbid-Sur dualisation project – Section IA and Section IB – were awarded by the ministry during the past two years and are currently under construction.

Section IA, valued at OMR125.2m ($325.4m), is being constructed by the joint venture of Italian construction company Astaldi and Turkey-based contractor Ozkar Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret.

The 40km stretch runs from Sarur in Samayil to Wadi al Aqq.

The dualisation project of 75km-long Section 1B, worth OMR117m ($304m), is being carried out by the joint venture of Turkish company STFA and UAE-based Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG).

Expected to be completed by 2016, the dualisation project will change the single-lane carriageway into an all-weather motorway with a design speed of 120kmph.