A 27-km Saham-Suhar road, part of the Al Batinah Expressway, was opened to traffic on Wednesday. The opened section is part of the 50-km fourth package of the road.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, Shaikh Saif bin Muhanna al Lamki, Governor of North Al Batinah, Salim bin Mohammed al Nuaimi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Shaikh Ali bin Mansoor al Busaidy, Wali of Saham, and a number of officials and citizens.
With the opening of this stretch, a total of 142 km of the Al Batinah Expressway has been opened so far out of the total length of 270 km.
Speaking at the event, Dr Al Futaisi said that the remaining packages will be completed within few months.
Many links have been included in the seventh package and are currently under analysis by the ministry and their tenders will be awarded soon, the minister said.
Some links have already been added to existing contractors as they should be implemented without delay such as the link from Saham roundabout to the expressway which was executed by the existing contractor, the minister said.
Wali of Saham said that opening of this vital project will certainly provide social, economic and touristic services. He added that the road will facilitate mobility of citizens and activate economic activities.
The fourth package involves 198 viaducts, 5 bridges and 2 overpasses one of them in Saham and the other one in Suhar to streamline the traffic movement on all directions. In addition, there are 4 elevated intersections and 2 tunnels. The new Al Batinah Expressway has four 3.65-metre wide lanes in each direction besides a 2.5-metre wide road shoulder and a 4.5 metre median strip.