Muscat: Oman is gearing up for the opening of a vital road which links the Sultanate to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
The design and alignment studies for the 52-km Haffet-Wadi Saa dual carriageway road have been completed and more than 130 million cubic metres of sand removed.
The opening of the road linking Oman with Saudi Arabia, through The Empty Quarter desert, will lead to less traffic at Oman’s border crossings.
It will also solve the issue of delays and congestion at Buraimi and Dhairah crossings, according to a report by the Implementation, Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU).
Statistics dating back to 2015 show that the annual volume of goods (imports and exports) traded across the Saudi-Omani border was 2.1 million tonnes. It is estimated that the new road will contribute to good growth of trade activities between the two countries.
In Oman, the road begins from the area of Tanam in Ibri, continuing through the oilfields until it reaches the Empty Quarter, where the Oman-Saudi border is located.
The project has been called an "engineering marvel" having been built through the sands of the Empty Quarter, which is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, according to Times of Oman.
&uuid=(email))