Plans for water taxis in Oman

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, is working on an improvement plan for the transportation sector, which will include organising the public transport and operations of trucks.

On the passenger transport front, Khamis bin Mohammed al Shammaki, the Undersecretary for land transport, told the Observer, that there are plans to introduce water taxis in Oman. “We are in discussion to identify possible spots to develop the water taxi service in Muscat and Musandam. Once the proposal is ready, a tender will be floated.”

The ministry said that currently, 20 female drivers are in the taxi business, which will go up to 200 in the coming years. “We are open to more female taxi operators coming into the field and have not rejected any proposal so far.”

Major projects for the transport sectors include developing integrated transport stations, bus shelters, a joint command center, and yards to park trucks.

The ministry said in its report that there are 159,000 registered trucks in the Sultanate, of which 110,000 weigh over seven tonnes. Nearly 70 percent of the operators are self-employed. “The sector is unregulated, and the total value of the sector can reach half a billion if organised properly.”

The government confirmed that the official opening of the strategic Empty Quarter Road and the border control has been one of the major achievements of the transport and logistics sector. It will pave the way for new horizons of social integration on the one hand, and Omani and Saudi economic and logistical integration on the other hand. The road gives direct access to the ports and free zones in both countries.

Four petrol stations will be opened soon on the Al Batinah Expressway.

"There is 17,000 km of unpaved basic roads, compared to 16,000 km of paved roads in the Sultanate, which opens the door of opportunities for investment," the ministry said.