(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) is working on a legislation to streamline the land transport sector in a bid to enhance the national economy. It stated that the final draft of the Land Transport Law, which will enhance passenger and goods transport services, is being finalised.
The ministry is also conducting a study in Muscat governorate to create an integrated public transport system, limit traffic congestion and reduce environmental effects.
The ministry said it added 302km of asphalt roads in 2012, taking the total length supervised by it to 12,704km, while dirt roads stretch about 16,866km. The operation of the first railway in the sultanate is expected to be in 2018. There will be two lines - a 200kmph passenger train and a goods train will run at 80-120kmph. Work is underway to prepare the final design of the railway network, which will connect Salalah, Duqm and Sohar ports.
In the ports and marine affairs sector, RO501.1mn has been allocated for new port projects in the Eighth Five-Year Plan 2011-15. The ministry has fixed August 31, 2014 as the deadline for receiving commercial vessels at Port Sultan Qaboos, with few exceptions like vessels supplying grain, livestock, edible oil, cement, bitumen and fish. The port will be officially designated as a tourism port from January 1, 2015.
Development of Khasab and Shinas ports are also underway. The design phase of Khasab Port is already over and the development of Shinas port from a small fishing harbour to a multi-activity port is going on.
The Khasab port, of late, has also been popular with international cruise liners dropping anchor every tourist season. The port this year received 31 cruise ships till September, and hosted 39,223 tourists. Work is also underway to construct a marina and a road network at Halaniyat Islands at a cost of RO39mn. Work is also on to build 37km internal roads at Duqm Port, in addition to preparing designs for projects at the port, like security gates, boundaries and beams for cranes among others.
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