Sultanate of Oman

Development of the First Part of Road 32 in the Special Economic Zone of Duqm (Supplementary Loan)
Loan No: 685 Interest Rate: 2.5 %
Beneficiary: The Public Authority for Special Economic Zone and Free Zone Grace Period: 5 years
Project Cost: KD 139.0 million Maturity: 30 years
Amount of Loan: KD 24.0 million Repayment: 51 semi-annual installments
Date of Board Approval: 2020-09-02 First Installment: 5 years following the first disbursement
Date of Loan Agreement: 2020-09-03 Date of Loan Effectiveness: -

Objectives:

The project aims at improving and developing land transportation services within the special economic zone of Duqm, and accommodating increasing traffic which will result from connecting the main developing projects in this zone, most notably the commercial port, the refinery, Duqm airport, and the areas allocated for heavy, medium and light manufacturing, in addition to being part of national road 32, which links north Ash-Sharqiyah governorate with Al Wusta governorate. The project will contribute to improving the movement of goods between investment projects in the zone and the other parts of the Sultanate.

Description:

The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, includes the development of the two parts of road 32 which lie within the economic zone of Duqm. The construction of the road, which has a total length of about 33.4 km, was divided into two parts:

  1. Part One:consists of the construction of the southern part of the road, which has a length of about 19.6 km, which is financed by the original Arab Fund loan 646/2017 and this supplementary one. It consists of three-lane dual carriageways, with a total width of about 11.25 m each way, in addition to two-lane service roads on each side of the main road with a total length of about 23 km and a width of about 7.3 m. This part consists of the construction of several concrete bridges over 3 valleys; Wadi Dungart, Wadi Say and Wadi Al Jarf.
  2. Part Two:consists of the construction of the northern part of the road, which has a length of about 13.8 km, which is financed by the Arab Fund loan 662/2019. It is planned to use the same specifications and dimensions as those for southern part of the road.

The project consists of the following main components:

  1. Civil Works:This includes preparatory works, removal of the existing road, earthworks, asphalt paving, structural bridges, and complementary works necessary for the road, such as road embankment, water drainage facilities, road lighting, traffic safety, landscaping, ground services and channel ducts for future services.
  2. Consultancy Services:This includes the consultancy services necessary for the preparation of studies, specifications, designs, detailed plans and bid documents, along with assistance in bid analysis and works supervision.

Financing:

The two Arab Fund loans, the first No. 646/2017 and the supplementary, cover about 81% of the total project cost. The Omani government will cover the remaining cost of the project and any additional project cost that may arise.