The Oman Tender Board has awarded a OMR135.6m ($352m) contract for the fourth package of the Batinah Expressway Project to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) (Oman).
A tender board official told Reuters that L&T (Oman) was the successful bidder for the project, which involves the construction of a 50km-long road and will be constructed over a period of two years across six packages.
L&T (Oman) was also declared the lowest bidder for the fifth and sixth packages of the 265km-long Batinah Expressway project, for which bids have recently opened.
Another 11 companies submitted bids for the fourth package, including Nagarjuna Construction Co International, Galfar Engineering and Contracting Co, National United Engineering and Contracting Co, and Khalid Bin Ahmed & Sons.
Once completed, the expressway will have four lanes in each direction, starting from the end of Muscat Expressway at Barka up to Khatmat Melahah in Shinas.
In April 2013, the Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) awarded a contract for the third package to Indian firm Simplex Infrastructures.
The contract for the second package, which was awarded to joint venture of two construction firms, WCT and Oman Roads Engineering Co, was cancelled by MoTC for undisclosed reasons. Earlier this week, MoTC re-floated the tender. Package 1 contract was awarded to Galfar Engineering in 2012.