Gulf Construction Online - 102 companies bid for Oman Rail contracts

Regional News

102 companies bid for Oman Rail contracts

01 May 2014

A RECORD 102 civil and engineering construction firms from around the world have submitted bids to prequalify for the first main construction package for Oman’s multimillion-dollar railway project, according to the Oman Observer.

In addition, 47 local and international firms have collected prequalification documents for a separate package for the railway systems, the newspaper reported.

Construction majors from Turkey, China, Italy, France, Spain, Korea and India are among bidders who have indicated interest in bidding for the key civil infrastructure and railway track design-and-build contracting services package (main contractor) to be issued by Oman Rail, the company which is spearheading the project.

The list includes contracting giants, such as Ozkar, Afcons, L&T ECC, STFA, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Toto, Strabag, Hanjin Heavy Industries, Saipem, J&P, China Railway, CCC, Astaldi, TAV Tepe Afken, Samsung, Acciona, Tecnimont, Ircon International, Hochtief Construction, Posco and Eiffage Rail, according to the report.

Contracting interest from locally and regionally based firms has been equally robust. Potential contenders from the sultanate include Galfar, the Zubair Corporation, Hani Archirodon, Services and Trade, Federici Stirling Batco, Teejan, Carillion Alawi, Bahwan Contracting, Al Hassan Engineering, Towell Infrastructure, Drake and Scull Oman, Gulf Petrochemical Services, Oman Brunei Investment, and Simplex Infrastructures.

The main construction package includes the installation of a 171-km segment extending from Sohar to Buraimi, representing Section One of the 2,244-km national rail network. As part of its scope, the selected main contractor will undertake a detailed design based on the preliminary design submitted by Italferr, the Italian rail consultancy appointed as the preliminary design consultant (PDC) for the national
railway project.

Civil works constitute a key component of the design-and-build (D&B) package. It covers all the required earthworks, track work, switches and crossings, construction of railway depots, freight and operational facilities, railway maintenance compounds, highways and access roads, drainage channels, railway embankments and sand mitigation zones.

Also as part of its remit, the D&B contractor will build all structures, including railway tunnels, under-bridges and over-bridges, camel bridges, culverts, and crossings for pipelines and utilities. Facilities for freight, loading and unloading, operations and maintenance buildings, are also included.

According to the Oman Observer, international rail equipment vendors that have collected prequalification documents for the railway systems package include Thales, Bombardier, Indra, Siemens, Ultra Electronics, GE Global, Samsung C&T Corporation, Ansaldo, Alstom, CAF Signalling, ABB, Isolux, CREC, Hyundai Rotem and China Railway.

A contract award for the main D&B package is slated during the fourth quarter of this year.