Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: The road and border port - Empty Quarter - linking the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was opened. Starting from 11am on December 8, the people from both countries can cross the borders through the road.
Oman TV said that the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia inaugurated the direct road - Empty Quarter - and the two border ports between them.
The length of the Empty Quarter Road is 725 km, from the Sultanate of Oman the road starts from Ibri in Al Dhahirah Governorate and ends at the Empty Quarter border port with a length of 161 km. The road starts from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Batha intersection and ends at the border port with a length of 564 km.
The Empty Quarter Road is of great importance in opening prospects for cooperation between the two countries in various fields, especially in the economic aspect, as it contributes to expanding the volume of trade exchange, reviving tourism and enabling Omani exports to reach the rest of the world through the Red Sea gateway. The road will enable Saudi exports to reach the rest of the world directly through the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Engineer Nasser bin Hamoud Al Mabsali, Director General of Ibri Industrial City, Madayn, said in a statement to the Oman News Agency (ONA) and Oman Radio: "The inauguration of the Empty Quarter Road linking the Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia represents a strong addition and great importance, whether in the movement of individuals or the movement of trade exchange."
Al Mabsali indicated that the proximity of the Ibri Industrial City to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia constitutes an important opportunity for the exchange of visits by Saudi investors to learn about the investment opportunities in the city.
"Ibri Industrial City offers many incentives to attract investors, including an exemption from the rental value for two years with the reduction of rents to a subsequent three years, adding that it will be a full-service industrial city with the existing facilities represented in the speed of permits and other procedures," Nasser Al Mabsali added.
A number of Omani businessmen and their Saudi counterparts confirmed that the opening of the Empty Quarter road, which links the Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia, will enhance the volume of trade and investment exchange and activate the tourism movement between the two countries.
Eng Said bin Ali Al Yahyai, Director of the Roads Department in Al Dhahirah Governorate, indicated that the cross-section of the Empty Quarter Road consists of a single road with a lane width of three metres and 65 cm, with outer shoulders two-and-a-half metres wide.
Engineer Yousef bin Abdullah Al Mujaini, Director of the Projects Department at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, said the Empty Quarter Road on the Sultanate’s side was designed according to the technical specifications approved by the Ministry within the Road Design Manual.
