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In
April 1997, a major road construction agreement was signed between
Oman and Yemen for a 245km highway at a cost of RO14.5 million
to be paid for by Oman between al-Ghaidha in Yemen and Shahn on
the border with Oman. This project is one of several bilateral
agreements with Yemen which will bring economic benefits to both
countries. In the north of the Sultanate, the Khasab to Bukha
road project was completed in 1997 at a cost of nearly RO11 million.
The 25km coast road now links the two wilayats in the Musandam
peninsula. The second phase from Bukha to Tibat (12km) was completed
in July 1998.
One
of the remaining major highway projects is the coast road from
Quriyat to Sur (100km). The route has been graded and it is now
possible to drive right along the coast in a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
With the industrial projects now taking shape in Sur, this route
will be paved to cut down the journey time from Muscat. The Ministry
initially considered that the road should be tolled, but they
have since decided against this plan. The Ministry has also carried
out studies on two other projects for private sector construction
as toll roads, namely Thumrait to al-Mazyounah (190km) and the
Batinah motorway (241km).
In
August 1998, the Ministry signed an agreement for the construction
of an extension to the Sinaw/Mahout coastal road to Duqm, a distance
of 177km. This is a particularly important development for the
many small fishing communities in the central region of Oman.
The project will cost nearly RO4 million. A network of minor roads
is being built in al-Wusta region with the help of a loan of RO22.1
million from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund. Another road that
will benefit isolated villages is a 58km mountain road linking
the wilayat of Dima and Tayin with the rest of al-Sharqiya. The
agreement was signed in April 1999 and has to be completed in
35 months at a cost of RO5.5 million.
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Oman
National Transport Company (ONTC)
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The
State-owned bus company, ONTC, has the franchise to operate public
services throughout the Sultanate. It also contracts out some
of its fleet for short-term charters and tourism. It currently
operates on some 28 routes, covering over 20 million km per year
and has an annual replacement programme for its fleet with the
most modern vehicles available. There are plans to replace all
non air-conditioned vehicles. There are currently 19 daily long
distance departures to towns in the interior and in January 1997,
a new service was introduced linking Ibri with Dubai via al-Buraimi.
In 1998, seven medium sized coaches were added to the fleet for
transporting passengers to and from Seeb Airport to hotels. ONTC
also bought five other buses for contract work. Coaches full of
tourists are now a familiar sight in the Sultanate. Two super
modern luxury coaches were added to the services linking Muscat
with Salalah in 1998. In April 1999, ONTC introduced a new express
service between Muscat and Abu Dhabi. ONTC has had a most successful
service to Dubai since 1989. At the end of 1996, the Salalah Express
coach service celebrated its 10th anniversary of operation. The
privatisation of ONTC is under consideration and a consultant
has been appointed to recommend how to proceed.
In
1998, ONTC carried 3,130,307 passengers on urban, suburban and
long distance services, including season ticket holders. In addition,
3,274,797 passengers were carried on contracts, charters and tourism
services. The company employs a total of 509 staff of whom 364
(72%) are Omanis. Omanis number 226, 76% of the 297 employees
on the buses. Taxi
services run by the private sector are also well developed and
there is an excellent network of minibuses operating as 'service'
taxis linking up the major centres of population.
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Seaports
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An
early development priority for the Sultanate was the construction
of Mina Sultan Qaboos which was completed in 1974 with a capacity
to handle 2 million tonnes annually. Since then, many improvements
have been made, including dredging the harbour entrance to a depth
of 13m. The spoil from this and other operations has been used
for land reclamation in Shutaifi Bay where a 150,000m2 container
storage area has been created. Two new cranes were ordered for
delivery in 1998 at a cost of over RO80,000 each. The cranes are
the most modern of their kind and will cut container handling
time by 40%. In spite of various other improvements and additions
made to the facilities in recent years, studies carried out by
the Ministry have shown that a new port is needed to supplement
Mina Sultan Qaboos in the next decade. Sohar has been chosen as
the site for a number of reasons, the most important being the
development of major industrial projects in the area, such as
the aluminium smelter and petrochemicals plant.
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Port
Salalah
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Port
Salalah is the new container terminal built in a record time of
14 months. The first vessel docked on 1st November 1998 and by
the official opening ceremony a month later, 25 ships had been
handled. It was built on the site of the former harbour of Raysut,
the port which served Salalah and the Governorate of Dhofar. Being
close to the direct shipping lanes between Europe and the Far
East, it has easy access, not only to the Gulf, but also to the
Red Sea, Indian Ocean and East Coast of Africa, providing a major
boost to Oman's economy. With the expansion of the Raysut Industrial
Estate and the prospect of increased trade with Yemen, it was
decided to develop the existing harbour as a container port and
free trade zone at a cost of US$ 130 million. In June 1999, Government
approval was given for the establishment of the free zone, which
will be funded primarily by the private sector and developed in
several phases. Salalah Port Services has been appointed project
manager for Phase One, which will be developed within the boundaries
of the existing port.
In
May 1996, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the
Ministry, Sea-Land Services Inc. and its Omani partners, for the
transformation of the harbour into a modern container terminal
to attract transhipment trade from ships en route to the Far East.
The new port has four berths, with a total length of 1,200m and
a water depth of 16m after dredging. In the first phase, the terminal
had a capacity for 900,000 TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Units ).
In February 1997, agreements were signed for the dredging and
landfill necessary for the construction of new jetties. Phase
One (berths 1 & 2) was completed in September 1997, followed
by Phase Two (berth 3) at the end of 1998. Phase 3 (berth 4) was
completed early in 1999. The new port is one of the largest and
most sophisticated container terminals in the world. Each berth,
with an area of 50 hectares, will be able to hold five cranes
and in future a further four berths may be added. It will have
the advantage of being located in a country that is politically
stable with a soundly-based economy and a nexus of communications
linking East and West.
The
cargo traffic in 1999, the first full year of operation, is estimated
at 600,00 TEU and is expected to go up to 900,000 TEU in 2000.
In January 1999, the second batch of gantry cranes arrived, bringing
the total number to six, at a cost of US$ 35 million.
The
Government holds 20% of the shares in this venture, which will
be run over a 30-year concession period by Salalah Port Services
Company (SAOG). Sea-Land has 15%, Maersk 15%, Omani companies
19%, pension funds 11% and the remainder of the shares are for
public subscription. The Company held its first Annual General
Meeting on 28th April 1999. The decision by the two major foreign
shipping companies to use Salalah as their hub port has given
it immediate high-level status in the field of international maritime
shipping. Further
expansion of the port and improvement to the handling facilities
are planned. It is also proposed to establish a dry dock and increase
the storage area.
Salalah
Port Services will provide jobs for approximately 800 staff, some
of whom are currently being trained to operate the new facility
with the assistance of the National Training Institute. All the
cranes are operated by Omanis and 50% of the workforce is already
Omanised.
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Port
Sohar
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In
June 1998, an agreement was signed with the Japanese Export &
Import Bank for a loan of RO96 million to finance the construction
of Oman's third port at Sohar. A Korean company has won the tender
for the construction of the 6km-long break water at a cost of
RO25 million.Work began in July 1999 and is due to be completed
by 2001. The northern breakwater has a length of 3.6km and the
southern arm of the project 2.4km. Tenders have been let for dredging
the harbour and the civil works for the port. The project will
take about three years to complete. In the first phase, two liquid
cargo berths, two bulk berths for the aluminium smelter, two cargo
berths, and a container berth will be completed. An additonal
berth will be built for Government use.
The
harbour will have a depth of 17m, which is deep enough for the
fifth generation of container vessels coming into service. There
is provision for the construction of a further 14 - 15 berths,
should these be required, and a special site has been set aside
for the construction of a dry dock. The
port is situated north of the town in the area of Marsa Majees
(the jetty for the copper smelter imports/exports) and close to
the Sohar industrial areas.
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Airports
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It is hard to believe that Oman's airport was once situated in
the confined space of Bait al-Falaj. The construction of a new
modern airport was an early priority in the country's development.
The site chosen, some 17km out of Muscat, seemed remote at the
time that it was completed in 1973. However, Seeb International
Airport has gone from strength to strength. The main runway has
been extended to 3,585m and the passenger terminals have been
expanded to handle 3,000 passengers per hour. Duty-free shopping,
lounges and transit areas have been added and expanded to make
it a thoroughly modern facility. In 1998, there were an estimated
2.76 million passenger arrivals, departures and transits. This
represented a 7.85% increase on the previous year. Cargo volumes
also went up by 16.5%. In early 1997, a pay and park system was
introduced at the Airport and meters have now been installed in
some 80 airport taxis to replace the former fixed rates in force.
Salalah, the country's second airport which was originally developed
as a military installation, began operating a passenger terminal
in 1986 and the main runway was extended in 1992.
The
Sultanate now has six civil airports: Seeb, Salalah, Sur, Masirah
and Khasab and Diba in Musandam. At present, Sur and Diba can
only take light aircraft, but plans are being studied for up-grading
the airport at Sur and to build new airports at Sohar and al-Buraimi.
Construction of the Sohar airport will coincide with the development
of the seaport and will relieve pressure on Seeb. A suitable site
has been identified and the land acquisition has begun. A site
has not yet been found at al-Buraimi, but land is being reserved
at al-Kamil for an airport in the al-Sharqiya region within easy
reach of Sur.
It
is likely that Seeb International Airport will also be further
expanded and up-graded to meet demand in the years to come. However,
such plans are contingent upon forecasts of demand and development
priorities. There are plans to privatise the airport but no decison
has yet been taken. Seeb is served by 26 airlines and is currently
handling 40 - 58 flights per day. In March 1999, the airport reported
a record 9.65% increase in passenger traffic. For the first quarter
of 1999, the airport handled 671,975 passengers which represented
an 8.6% increase over the same period in 1998. Revenues for the
Directorate-General of Civil Aviation rose by 5.4% in the first
quarter.
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Oman
Aviation Services
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In
recent years, OAS has expanded its services both on the ground
and in the air. In 1993, Oman Air began operating scheduled flights
to Salalah, Dubai, Trivandrum, Kuwait and Karachi. In 1994, Colombo
was added to these routes and Bombay in 1995. In April 1996, Oman
Air became the first airline to fly direct to Cairo. In May 1997,
an additional A320 Airbus was leased to join the other two airbuses
and to cover three new destinations - Abu Dhabi (five flights
per week), Doha and Madras (three flights each per week)- and
an additional flight to Cairo. In 1987, flights began to Abu Dhabi,
Doha and Madras and in 1998, Oman Air began a twice-weekly service
to Jeddah. Additionally, it operates 28 domestic flights per week
to Salalah, Sur, Khasab, Masirah and Diba and 50 charter flights
per week to the PDO airstrips at desert locations.
In
1998, the fleet consisted of two dry leased A-310s, two outright
purchased ATR 42-500, four Fokker F-27 and one Twin Otter DHC-6
which are fully owned by OAS. OAS also acquired a Boeing 727-200
on short wet lease to cater for the increased traffic during the
monsoon season in Salalah .In January 1999, the company acquired
two turbo prop ATR-42 aircraft to fly on short routes: Muscat
to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Gwadur - this made OAS the first
commercial airline in the GCC to operate turbo props on regional
routes. The company is now considering the acquisition of two
more wide-bodied aircraft on dry leases, thereby increasing its
core jet fleet to four to serve its international routes.
OAS
is investing in modern and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities
for its airline passengers at Seeb and Salalah airports. A completely
new catering complex is being constructed at a cost of RO4 million.
The
company has been actively seeking privatisation of its cargo,
ground handling and catering business through forming joint ventures
with world leading companies in these fields. Negotiations have
been initiated with Swiss and Singapore companies and it is hoped
that these alliances will bring the latest technology and know-how
to the company's door.
Omani
nationals now constitute 73% of the total workforce,and all pilots
operating the Airbus fleet are Omanis. Plans are afoot to start
a Training Academy wherein Omani candidates will be instructed
in various spheres of the company's activities including engineering,
ground handling, catering, cabin crew, administration, finance
etc.
Oman
Air, with the assistance of professional image consultants, is
developing a new look and image for the airline that will carry
it into the new millenium. New external livery and a smart new
cabin crew uniform have recently been introduced. In
the first six months of 1999, the company achieved a profit of
RO1.4million which is 17% higher than in the previous period of
1998.
OAS
gives support to a number of deserving causes every year and in
1999 gave special emphasis to the betterment of the physically
handicapped and educational programmes for those in need. The
Government has made a decision to privatise Seeb International
airport and the company will therefore be restructured, i.e. Airline
(Oman Air) and Airport Services (ground handling, catering and
cargo).The 20-year franchise with the Government is due to expire
in 24th May 2001.
The
company has shown an impressive performance with its training
and Omanisation plans. Some 680 staff have completed training
programmes. In 1993, the first batch of four Omani pilots graduated
to fly Boeing 737 aircraft. At the same time, certificates were
awarded to four Omani engineers who had been trained in Australia.
27 pilots have now completed their training and 29 are being trained
as engineers. OAS employs over 2,413 staff, of whom 1,717 are
Omani (71%). Great emphasis is placed on training and safety.
Emergency situations are simulated and exercises conducted with
the medical and emergency services. In 1998, a new air traffic
control system was installed at Seeb and an agreement was signed
for the modernisation of the runway lighting system. At Seeb,
110 air traffic controllers are Omani (95% of the total), as are
all 23 air traffic controllers at Salalah. Omani employees are
also given customer service courses at the National Training Institute.
19 trainees passed their 11-month course in November 1998 and
obtained their NVQs. Attaining an overall Omanisation level of
70% has been a major achievement of the company.
Oman
Air employs 417 Omani staff (57%) and 302 expatriates (43%) giving
a total of 719. Omanis are also employed in senior positions in
Gulf Air, which has 75% of the pilot positions filled by nationals
of the four Gulf States that each own 25% of the airline. (Oman,
Bahrain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi).
In
1997, a recovery plan, which aimed at restructuring the airline
by selling 17 aircraft and cutting out uneconomic routes was successful.
In March 1998, Gulf Air was able to report an operating profit
of $48 million for the previous year and is optimistic that this
trend will continue. Gulf Air currently operates 28 aircraft and
carries around 5 million passengers annually.
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