Al Batinah Coastal Road Project to unlock economic, tourism growth

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Informational Technology (MoTCIT) hosted a key forum on Wednesday to outline its strategy for the unlocking the full potential of the Al Batinah Coastal Road project in driving economic, tourism and social growth along the North and South Al Batinah coasts.

The forum was attended by officials representing a number of government stakeholder institutions, Municipal Councils, local shaikhs and walis of wilayats in the two governorates. It was held within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to engage with local communities and stakeholders in the successful delivery of key projects implemented by the Ministry.

The forum was an opportunity for Ministry officials to provide an update on the Al Batinah Coastal Road project, the current status of its operational use, and impediments and challenges in its smooth implementation. The objective, officials explained, is to enable the speedy issuance of a tender for the design and implementation of the incomplete parts of the project.

Officials underlined the Ministry’s strategy to ensure that the project contributes to tourist, economic and community objectives, stimulate the growth of commercial activities linked to the Barka and Al Suwaiq ports and enhances connectivity with the Al Batinah Expressway and the Khazaen Economic Zone.

It was announced that the Ministry plans to launch this year a tender for the design and implementation of the first part of Phase 1 of the Al Batinah Coastal Road project, which starts from Al Naseem Intersection in the Wilayat of Barka to the Tharmad Intersection in the Wilayat of Al Musannah. Besides implementing a 15-km length of the carriageway, the tender also calls for completing the paving of a 6 km link road connecting the coastal road with the Suwaiq Port.

The workshop was attended by Eng Khamis bin Mohammed al Shamakhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Informational Technology for Transport; Issa bin Hamad al Azri, Governor of South Al Batinah; Shaikh Saif bin Hamyar bin Al Malik al Shehi, Governor of North Al Batinah; Dr Mohammed bin Ali al Muttawa, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning for Urban Planning; and Azzan bin Qasim al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Tourism. (With inputs from ONA)