i8 | interview with the minister Interview with His Excellency Engineer Salim bin Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, Undersecretary of Transport The second leg of our interview was with Oman’s Undersecretary of Transport, His Excellency Engineer Salim bin Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, who provided an insightful perspective on the road transport sector. What is the Sultanate’s strategic vision for the dualling of Bidbid-Sur? There has been a significant increase in car ownership and traffic demand in the Sultanate over the last years. As such, Royal Oman Police records indicated that about 125,000 vehicles were registered annually over the last three years. This increases the number of vehicles on the road, and contributes to congestion and safety issues on the road network. Alleviating traffic congestion, and improving safety and driving conditions on the road are a prime target of our mission in the Ministry of Transport & Communications. For this reason, the current five-year plan (2011-2015) includes adding many roads for new construction, upgrading existing roads and dualizing existing roads. Some projects have already been completed and opened to traffic. We still have more than 80 ongoing projects with a total cost of about RO 2,600 million. Yet, the construction will commence in some other projects this year. Needless to say, the current fiveyear plan includes megaprojects such as Batinah Expressway and Bidbid-Sur Highway, which require massive earthwork, many wadi (valley) bridges and interchanges to achieve the 130 km/h design speed. These costly elements become valuable assets that will require proper operation and optimum management. What is the importance of Bidbid-Sur Highway? Bidbid-Sur Highway is one of the major roads in the Sultanate. It is a very essential road to Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate, as well as North and South Sharkiya Governorates, and the wilayats (provinces) in these governorates. The road is about 250 km long and is the main corridor to Sur, Ras Al-Had, Al-Ashkhara, Al-Kamel, and Al-Wafi. It is expected to contribute to the trade and economic activities in the whole area. Why is there a need for dualizing this road? The dualization is required because the two-lane single carriageway cannot accommodate the current high traffic demand. Furthermore, the congestion and long queues observed on the single carriageway force some rush drivers to execute unsafe overtaking, resulting in dangerous situations and probably traffic accidents. For this reason, the dual carriageway is designed for a speed of 130 km/h. Additionally, all safety measures have been taken into consideration during design. Was there a need for the three lanes in each direction? The analysis and forecast of traffic demand determined the number of lanes required to serve the traffic at an acceptable level of service during the design period, which is about two years. What are the main features of the dualization alignment? The alignment of the new dualization follows the existing road in some stretches. However, in areas where the existing road is located along wadis like Wadi Al-Aq, the alignment is shifted outside the wadi to avoid the traffic disruption due to wadi flows in rainy seasons. In addition, in populated areas such as Ibra Town, the alignment has been shifted outside the developed area to form a bypass of the main town. In particular, the stretch of the dualization forming the Ibra Town Bypass is about 18 km and has been completed and opened to traffic. Also, interchanges have been considered at many crossroads along the road to facilitate traffic interface and safe turning movements. 18