Transport

Oman’s public authorities are in the midst of a multi-billion-rial investment programme designed to expand and improve the country’s transport and logistics capacities across land, sea and air. Salalah, the country’s largest port, has recently shifted its focus towards import/export traffic, with a new 20-year master plan launched in 2011 aiming to establish multi-modal links at the port and boost logistics facilities at the nearby free-zone. Meanwhile, the government is currently working on completing the $3.9bn Batinah Expressway, which will be an extension of the Muscat Expressway and continue for 265 km to the UAE border, while the nine-segment national rail project is planned to cover a total of 2135 km at a cost of $15.5bn, with 1414 km under tender so far and $6bn already invested. Elsewhere, expansion works at Salalah Airport have been completed, with $765m invested in a new passenger terminal, air traffic control tower, ancillary buildings and connecting roads. This chapter contains an interview with Peter Young, Director, Oman Logistics Centre; and Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, Director, Oman Rail.