THE first road linking Saudi Arabia with Oman and running through hundreds of kilometres of fearsome desert is nearly complete and will be opened next year, a local newspaper reported.

The  road  runs through 592 km of the Empty Quarter, one of the largest deserts in the world, and links up with the first land border point with the sultanate.

Saudi Arabia Transport Minister Jabara Al Seraisry said  89 per cent of the road has been completed, the Arab News reported.

The project, linking the two GCC neighbours began in 2007 and involves the construction of a 750-km road. Diverted from the Khorais-Bathaa Road, the new road passes through Shayba and Umm Zamoul.

The new border point is expected to boost tourism and economic ties.

The border point, part of a bilateral agreement signed in 2006 between Saudi Arabia and Oman, could not be made operational by 2008 as scheduled due to construction delays. It will be called the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) Entry Point on the Saudi side and the Ramlat Khaliya entry point on the Omani side. 

The report quoted a Transport Ministry statement saying that all measures have been taken by relevant agencies in both countries “to establish the border point facilities, pave the roads and build other installations”.

Oman located on the Straits of Hormuz and oversees the maritime traffic through the straits. At present, the sultanate has only one border point with the UAE and those who want to go to Oman from Saudi Arabia have to pass via the UAE.