A CONSORTIUM led by Dohwa Engineering, a South Korean multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm, is a strong contender for the project management consultancy (PMC) package of the Oman National Railway project, according to the Oman Observer.
The consortium – which submitted a low bid of RO34.3 million ($89.1 million) or RO106.80 million ($277.5 million) with construction supervision – was among a total of five groups that had submitted technical and financial offers for the package last August. Other members of the consortium include National Engineering Office (NEO) of Oman; Korea Rail Network Authority of South Korea; First China Railway of China; and Balaji Railroad Systems of India.
Other bidding consortia were led by Tecnicas Reunidas of Spain, Parsons International, Hill International and Parsons Brinkerhoff.
The terms of the PMC contract include consultancy services for establishing Oman Railway Company; review of the network design and the activities of the preliminary design consultant and the contract process; extending contract management and construction supervision, and provision of project management services.
Additionally, the contract entails overseeing the procurement of rolling stock and procurement of the services of a rail transport operator in coordination with the government.
Construction of the rail network, which is part of a wider system linking all the countries of the GCC, is set to begin next year. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is overseeing the implementation of Oman Rail, which envisions the construction of a 2,244-km-long network extending from Buraimi in the north to Salalah in the south. En route, the network will connect Khatmat Malaha, Sohar Port, Duqm Port, Salalah Port and all major cities and towns in between.
By extending the line to Duqm and Salalah, Oman would offer an alternative route for freight transport, said Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, one of the directors of the Oman National Railway Company.
The state-owned company recently announced it was opening the pre-qualification tender to provide infrastructure and information technology systems for the initial stage of the network. The tender, open to local and foreign bidders, covers the construction of the first section, which runs from the border with the UAE at Al Buraimi to the port of Sohar. The projected cost of this phase is around $2.6 billion, with the expense of the full project expected to amount to $15 billion.
Ahead of the opening of the pre-qualification process, Oman had sealed a series of agreements that have laid the groundwork for the railway. Central to this was the awarding of a $36-million contract to Italian rail engineering firm Italferr, which is to act as the preliminary design consultant for the project and has already begun work. Contracts for the construction on the first stage are expected to be tendered later this year.
To finance part of the work, Oman may issue debt of up to $3 billion.
