Latest news with #roadprojects
Times of Oman
17-05-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
Cost of road projects since start of 10th five-year plan tops OMR900mn
Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology has plans to implement a number of dual carriageway road projects across the Sultanate of Oman in the upcoming period, following the completion of major national and primary dual carriageway roads connecting the governorates. The latest of these was the completion of the dualisation of Sultan Said bin Taimur Road, spanning 400 kilometres, making it the longest dual carriageway in the Sultanate. Eng. Khamis bin Mohammed Al Shamakhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport, stated that the ministry's upcoming focus will be on completing existing and newly approved projects. Some of these are in the final stages of tendering, while others are being prepared for award. Among the most notable projects is the dualisation project at the centre of Ibra in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate. Design work is underway for the dual carriageway connecting Sultan Turki bin Said Road through Al Mudhaibi ending in the Wilayat of Sinaw. He added, in a statement to the Oman News Agency, that the Ministry is also finalising procedures for the first phase of the dualisation project of the Empty Quarter Road in Al Dhahirah Governorate. Work is progressing on the first phase of the dual carriageway connecting Al Buraimi to Mahdah, spanning 11 kilometres. Efforts are also ongoing to complete remaining works on Sultan Said bin Taimur Road between Adam and Haima, as well as several projects in Dhofar Governorate. These include the dualisation of the road from Raysut to Al Mughsayl, Al Mughsayl Bridge, the Itin Tunnel, the dualisation of Al-Farooq Street, Sultan Taimur Street, and the construction of an asphalt road network in the Wilayat of Maqshan. Additionally, the ministry is implementing the Jabal Shams Road project and the dualisation of the Izki/Nizwa road (Garout South / Birkat Al Mouz / Firq) in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. Regarding the dualisation of the Al Kamil Wal Wafi / Jalan Bani Bu Hassan / Jalan Bani Bu Ali Road in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, He explained that the project is currently in the procedures and bid evaluation stage, based on the final scope agreed upon with the relevant authorities. He noted that the completion rate of the Al Kamil – Sur road has reached over 46%, while the Sultan Faisal bin Turki road has surpassed 44%. He confirmed that in 2024, the Ministry awarded a number of road projects with a total value exceeding OMR450 million. This year, the value of road projects is expected to exceed OMR600 million. The total cost of road projects awarded by the Ministry since the beginning of the Tenth Five-Year Plan until now has surpassed OMR920 million. Regarding the internal road links that connect highways, He affirmed that the Ministry is implementing some of these connections based on annual priorities and in line with plans approved by the relevant authorities. These include the link connecting the Al Musan'ah (Al Shu'aiba) roundabout and the completion of the Sohar link road connecting to the Al Batinah Expressway, which is currently under process and expected to be tendered this year. He also noted that work is ongoing to complete some links and supplementary works on Sultan Turki bin Said Road and the Al Batinah Expressway. He explained that the Ministry is also undertaking various road maintenance projects across the Sultanate. Among the most prominent is the maintenance of Sultan Thuwaini bin Said Road from the Wilayat of Bidbid to the Wilayat of Nizwa. He noted that the total length of asphalt and unpaved roads under the Ministry's supervision exceeds 33,000 kilometres—of which about 16,000 kilometres are asphalt roads and approximately 17,000 kilometres are unpaved.
Free Malaysia Today
13-05-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
RimbaWatch urges halt to road projects threatening wildlife habitats
RimbaWatch highlighted several road projects that will allegedly cut through the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve as well as the Titiwangsa Range through the Gapau and Lenggeng permanent forest reserves. (File pic) PETALING JAYA : An environmental watchdog has called for a halt to several projects that allegedly cut through sensitive wildlife habitats following the death of a baby elephant in a collision along the East-West Highway in Gerik, Perak, on Sunday. In a statement, RimbaWatch asked the government to immediately issue a permanent stop-work order for the road projects and other similar projects that would allegedly extend across sensitive ecosystems. It highlighted three environmental impact assessments: two approved by the department of environment in 2022, and another for road projects approved in 2023. It said that in 2022, approval was granted for the construction of Phase 3A of Jalan Kampung Pasir Raja in Hulu Dungun, as well as Zone A of Jalan Kampung Mat Daling in Jerantut, both leading to the Terengganu-Pahang border. It said these involved a 52km road which would cut through the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve, intended to be a core habitat for numerous wild cat species including the Malayan tiger, as well as other endangered species such as the Asian elephant and Malayan Tapir. 'The area has been protected under 'hutan perlindungan' status for some time, and RimbaWatch believes this to be a virgin forest which has never been logged before,' it said. The 2023 approval meanwhile was for a new road from Kampung Gagu in Ulu Beranang, Negeri Sembilan, involving a 15km road that would cut through the Titiwangsa Range through the Gapau and Lenggeng permanent forest reserves, it said. 'Human-animal conflict has already materialised from the expansion of roads into these areas. In 2022, a tiger was spotted on a newly-built road near Kampung Mat Daling. 'In April, a black panther mauled a lorry driver who had briefly stopped his vehicle by the roadside in Bukit Tangga, on an existing road which also dissects the Gapau and Lenggeng forest reserves,' RimbaWatch said. It said there was no way to build highways through highly sensitive protected areas without causing deforestation, severely hindering wildlife connectivity, and exposing endangered species to danger through roadkill, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching. 'We also question the effectiveness of constructing new highways through mountain ranges as a solution to connectivity issues. For example, the Kampung Gagu-Ulu Beranang road is parallel to an already existing road,' it added. The watchdog urged Putrajaya to instead improve public transport connectivity outside main cities, including by reviving historical rail lines and establishing new networks on, or adjacent to, existing infrastructural right of ways. It said that in the past, smaller towns such as Kuala Sepetang, Port Dickson, and Kuala Pilah had been connected via rail, which could provide an effective template to promote greater connectivity through establishing a safe, fast, and affordable rail network outside cities.
