BIDS for the design and supervision contract of the Oman National Railway project are currently being evaluated, according to a Tender Board official. Five consortia, each led by leading names in the global rail engineering and construction industry, are bidding for a four-year contract to undertake the detailed engineering design of the proposed 1,000-km-long rail network.

“Bids were opened last December and the offers are currently being appraised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which is implementing the project on behalf of the government,” the Tender Board official told the Oman Daily Observer. He did not, however, confirm a likely award date.

The consortia bidding for the project include the US’ Aecom, with the Denmark-headquartered Cowi & Partners and DBI, an affiliate of the German government-owned railway organisation DB; France’s Systra with US-based Parsons and Atkins of the UK; Mott MacDonald of the UK, with Italy’s Italferr and WorleyParsons of Australia; Korea Rail with eight other Korean firms, including Hyundai; and Spain’s Prointec Group with Spanish firms Idom, Eurostudies and ALG.