The Omani government is set to float new tenders for the construction of roads, utilities and service facilities at Khazen, the sultanate’s first integrated logistics hub, coming up on a sprawling 95-sq-km area, said a report.

The project is being developed by Oman Logistics Company (OLCo), a wholly-owned government entity, in South Al Batinah Governorate, reported the Oman Observer.

The company is preparing to float a number of tenders that will accelerate the implementation of this ambitious initiative including development of key facilities such as warehouses and hotels, besides commercial and residential components.

Tenders will also be issued in the coming weeks for an array of contracts covering the construction of other elements of Block One’s infrastructure.

This block will include all kinds of warehouses catering to a wide variety of cargo, as well as corporate office buildings, training institute, healthcare facility and a boulevard with mixed-use commercial and retail facilities, said the report.

The centrepiece is a dry port — the nation’s first inland port — which will anchor the development of the wider logistics hub.

Firm bids for the operation and management (O&M) contract to run the dryport are due next month, with a contract award expected to be announced by May 2016, stated the report.

It includes tenders for the construction of roads and utilities, which will be implemented through the conventional tendering process or via a build-own-operate-transfer (boot) system, it added.