Transport project spending tops RO 188 million

MUSCAT: Development spending by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology exceeded RO 188 million during the first nine months of 2026, with road projects accounting for the largest share.
Fahd bin Salim al Hinai, Director-General of Administrative and Financial Affairs at the ministry, said road projects received 68 per cent of the approved funds.
Spending on the Sultan Faisal bin Turki Road project in Musandam Governorate, covering the Dibba-Khasab route and the Lima link, exceeded RO 32 million.
The dualisation of the Adam-Thumrait section of Sultan Said bin Taimur Road received RO 24 million, while expenditure on the Al Mughsail Bridge dualisation project reached RO 9 million.
The ministry also spent about RO 8 million repairing damage caused by adverse weather during 2026, Al Hinai said.
Other expenditure covered development projects in the Al Mouj area and along November 18 Street, airport developments and projects transferred to the ministry by other government bodies.
Al Hinai said the ministry was directing financial resources towards priority development schemes while seeking to improve the management of liquidity, financial obligations and payments to contractors, suppliers and other beneficiaries.
Revenue collected by the ministry reached about RO 29.09 million in the first seven months of 2026, an increase of more than RO 3.48 million from the corresponding period of 2025.
The ministry has introduced administrative, financial, digital and human resources initiatives aimed at improving resource utilisation and institutional performance.
Al Hinai said work was continuing to strengthen financial governance, improve spending efficiency and digitise procedures to accelerate financial transactions supporting development and strategic projects.
About 60 per cent of work to classify bank guarantees associated with projects has been completed. These include performance bonds, advance-payment guarantees and insurance policies.
The ministry has also completed 65 per cent of a project to archive development documents held in its storage facilities, improving record management and document retrieval.
The Directorate-General of Administrative and Financial Affairs is working with the ministry’s digital transformation team to automate disbursement procedures for development projects.
The initiative is intended to simplify procedures, shorten documentation cycles and improve the speed, accuracy and monitoring of financial transactions.
The ministry’s 2026 executive plan focuses on strengthening resource allocation, supporting financial sustainability, rationalising public spending, increasing revenue and developing institutional and individual performance indicators.
Al Hinai said the ministry had met its 2026 recruitment target. It appointed 79 employees to permanent positions and recruited 33 under project contracts, while 475 employees on share-based contracts were regularised. A further 18 employees were appointed to supervisory positions.
The ministry will continue investing in talent, partnerships and innovative solutions while expanding its use of digital systems to improve administrative and financial performance, he added.