Dibba-Lima-Khasab road project on track

Yousef al Habsi

Khasab, June 7

The Dibba-Lima-Khasab road project, which is going to be a tourist attraction and one more engineering marvel of Oman, is on track, according

to Eng Said bin Hamoud al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology who spoke to Oman Arabic at the site of the project. It is expected to effectively connect the social, economic and tourism sectors in Musandam Governorate with the rest of Oman.

The minister stated that the Dibba-Lima-Khasab road project is one of the strategic and vital projects that the ministry is undertaking in Musandam.

The road connects the wilayats and villages of Musandam to each other. Once completed, the road will contribute to opening new areas for urban, economic and commercial development in the governorate and activating tourism and the smooth flow of traffic between the wilayats. The implementation of the project began in January this year following a two-and -a-half-year planning. The implementation rate of the project currently stands at 15 per cent well ahead of the scheduled 11 per cent.

He pointed out that the ground preparations to construct the road from Dibba to Lima is now complete and that 60 km out of a total of 72 km have been paved. “We expect to complete the rest of the road by September. The most difficult part remains which connects the Niyabat of Lima to the Wilayat of Khasab, a distance of 22 km of which 12 km have been completed. The road is expected to become a major tourist attraction as some sections overlook the Sea of Oman and others overlook the Arabian Gulf. In addition to the presence of deep valleys with wonderful views along the road. We addressed officials at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to set up towers as some parts of the road are not yet covered by the network. We also plan to connect other services along the road such as the water network that will serve the residential areas and large population centres of the Khasab and Dibba, and the Niyabat of Lima. Officials at the Authority for Public Services Regulation will be contacted for this purpose to implement these projects at a faster pace possible. Besides, we have a plan to establish a protection dam in Lima in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.”

The minister added: “We are banking on Khasab Port to enhance the shipping and logistics sectors in the governorate. With the presence of the new operator, the port made a notable improvement in performance in terms of the quantities of goods handled and tourist attraction. It is also witnessing a significant increase in the movement of goods and we are working with the operator to study the market in depth and work with the ministry during the coming years to expand the port’s activities.