Leading international engineering consultancy firms are set to bid for a key construction supervision services contract announced by Oman Rail for the first segment of the national railway project, said a report.


The winner will be primarily tasked with overseeing all of the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) works included on Segment One of the rail network, covering the 207-km distance from Sohar Port to Buraimi (on the sultanate’s border with the UAE), reported the Oman Observer.


The construction component of the stretch promises to make it of the largest and most complex infrastructure undertakings to date.


More than 70 viaducts totalling a staggering length of around 27.5 km will be constructed en route.


The consultant will also be part of an integrated management team (IMT) being constituted by Oman Rail to oversee the smooth execution of all key components of Segment One of the national railway project.


The scope of work includes the construction of bridges, roads, embankments, underpasses, traffic controls, pedestrian signage, sidewalks, streetlighting, stormwater gullies, manholes, street landscaping, fencing and gates.


A consortium headed by Spanish engineering contractor Técnicas Reunidas was selected in February to provide project management consultancy services for the construction of rail network.