By Conrad Prabhu
— MUSCAT: May 23: Signalling its intent to accelerate the pace of implementation of the Sultanate’s National Railway network, Oman Rail has kicked off competitive tendering for the construction of a further 1,207 kilometres of railway infrastructure. In back-to-back tenders floated by the national railway company over the past week, an additional three segments of the nine-segment national rail network have been identified for execution in contracts potentially totalling an estimated $6-8 billion, say industry experts. It includes a technically challenging 93-kilometre stretch from Thamrait to Salalah Port traversing rugged terrain crisscrossed by major wadis.
Segments 2, 3 and 4, cover the distance from Hafeet on Oman’s border with Abu Dhabi all the way down to Salalah in Dhofar Governorate, via Haima and Duqm. Together with Segment 1, which extends from Sohar Port (Batinah North Governorate) to Buraimi on the Sultanate’s border with the UAE, they represent the strategic backbone of the country’s rail network linking the country’s three maritime gateways at Sohar, Duqm and Salalah with the GCC rail system.
A contract for the 207-kilometre stretch representing Segment 1 is expected to be announced by Oman Rail in the third quarter of this year.
Five consortiums led by prominent international rail contractors are bidding for the multibillion dollar package.
In the first of two tenders floated by the wholly government owned company, Oman Rail invited international contractors to prequalify for a competitive tender leading to an Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contract covering Segment 2 of the national rail network. The 240 km-long segment is in fact made up of two sections: Section 2a extending from Hafeet in Dhahirah Governorate to Ibri (114 km), and Section 2b, extending from Ibri to a proposed Dhahirah Special Economic Zone (116 km).
But in a key proviso, Oman Rail noted that it could expand the scope of this tender to also include the whole of Segment 3, as well as a sizeable chunk of Segment 4. “This prequalification process is EPC for Oman Rail Project Segment 2. Oman Rail, at its sole discretion, may decide to extend it for segment 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a and 4b or may decide to go for another prequalification process,” the company stated.
One of the largest of the nine segments that together make up the 2,135 km national rail network, Segment 3 (488 km) is made up of three sections: Section 3a extending from Al Dhahirah Special Economic Zone to Al Ghabah (116 km); Section 3b extending from Al Ghabah to Haima (197 km); and Section 3c running from Haima to Duqm (175 km). Also likely to be included in the scope of this package, according to Oman Rail, are Sections 4a , which runs 166 km from Haima to Amal (Wusta Governorate), and Section 4b, extending 230 km from Amal to Thamrait (Dhofar Governorate). Thus if sections 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a and 4b are bundled as a single EPC package, the successful contractor stands to win a contract to implement a staggering 1,114 kilometres of rail infrastructure, representing just over half of the total national rail network.
In addition to undertaking the detailed final design and construction of all aspects of the rail and related support infrastructure, the selected contractor will also be required to integrate the commission the associated communications, signalling and other railway technical subsystems for the segments in question.
Importantly, interested bidders must have executed the final design and construction of at least one major rail project of a value of over $1 billion in the past five years if they wish to prequalify for Oman Rail’s EPC package. This must include experience in laying at least 200 km of double track (design speed of a minimum of 160 km per hour).
Separately, Oman Rail has invited qualified railroad contractors with experience in building complex civil infrastructures, to prequalify for the 93-kilometre-long Thamrait-Salalah, representing Section 4c of the national rail network. Given the rugged terrain through which the alignment passes, a large number of world-scale bridges, tunnels and viaducts are envisioned along this stretch.
http://omanobserver.om/oman-tenders-1200-km-of-new-rail-infrastructure/
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