Oman postpones National Rail System design tender until October
Five consortia bidding for $13bn project have been asked to extend the validity of bid bonds
Oman’s Tender Board has once again postponed floating the tender for the design and supervision package for the implementation of the sultanate’s National Rail System.
The five consortia bidding for the estimated $13bn project have been asked by the Board to extend the validity of their bid bonds to October 5, 2012.
An unnamed official from the Ministry of Transport and Communications was quoted by the Oman Daily Observer as saying that the ministry delayed the tendering process because it wanted to ensure that the project “is thought through meticulously” before any part is tendered out.
“Considering the complexity and size of the investment — which is one of the largest projects currently in hand — it’s not unreasonable to expect the ministry to take a fair amount of time to come up to speed with this project,” the official told the daily.
Under the terms of the four-year contract, the successful bidder will be responsible for the detailed engineering design of the proposed 1,000km rail network, extending from Khatmat Malah and Buraimi in the north to Duqm and Salalah in the southeast and south, respectively.
