Muscat: The shifting of land border crossings at Al Rawda, Sa’a and Wadi Al Jizzi, to a position closer to the border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has brought cheer to residents of Al Buraimi governorate. The decision came into effect from today morning and is expected to bring more economic, commercial and tourism activity to the governorate.
Speaking to Times of Oman, Anwar Al Badi, a resident of Al Buraimi said, “I heard this decision was taken and I wanted to see for myself and so went to the Wadi Al Jizzi border. There was a great flow of people and vehicles passing through without being stopped by the border police.” As a resident of Al Buraimi who works in Muscat Governorate, Al Badi would face the border crossing on a daily basis. “I would get out of work exhausted and drive to Al Buraimi, and it would take between 30 minutes and 1 hour to clear the Checkpost. This was a very tiring addition, just for me to get home daily.”
“During holidays, congestion is even more than what is there during the weekends. On these days, it takes over an hour to clear the border crossing. This decision to move the checkpost will help us all and also have the benefit of reviving tourism, commerce in Al Buraimi, helping to mitigate some of the effects of the pandemic during the past two years,” he added, thanking the government for the decision and the Governor of Al Buraimi for pursuing this issue.
In its past avatar, the land borders were closer to the entrance of the governorate, on the road that leads to the UAE. They have now been moved adjacent to the actual national border, leaving internal travel checkpost free.
