The Alsharqiya Expressway Tunnels Project is co-financed by a $130-million Opec Fund loan.
Opec Fund backs development projects in Oman
01 July 2020
The Opec Fund for International Development has signed a strategic partnership with Oman to help drive development in line with the country’s ambitions to become a major regional logistics hub.
The first joint project, the Alsharqiya Expressway Tunnels Project, is already under way to improve connectivity between the north and eastern regions of the country. The project is co-financed by a $130-million Opec Fund public sector loan and the Omani government.
As part of the project, two ‘twin-tube’ tunnels have been constructed with a combined length of around 4 km, said the Opec Fund. The tunnels safely bypass a critical floodplain, a major town and an area prone to landslides. The ultimate objective is to provide better access to jobs, markets and public services, it stated.
The project aligns with the sultanate’s plans to reinforce its credentials as a regional logistics hub: the Alsharqiya Expressway Tunnels Project is just one in a series of new investments with this goal in mind and the Opec Fund stands ready to provide further support.
Opec Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “We are delighted to launch a major development partnership with Oman. It is befitting to mark the beginning of our cooperation with such a landmark project that includes the first-ever tunnels in the country and provides safer travel for over one million people.”
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