Want to take a dive at Wadi Ash Shab in Oman, or visit the Nizwa Fort? We have good news for you. Saudi Arabia and Oman have opened a new road that connects the two countries.
The new route cuts the driving time between the countries down by 16 hours. At the moment, the only existing route between the two countries runs through the United Arab Emirates and is whopping 2,000 kilometres in length.
The new road inside Saudi Arabia will be 519 kilometres and includes a 247-kilometre drive from the Omani border to Shaybah. While it is 319 kilometres from Shaybah to the Batha-Haradh road, which leads to Al-Kharj and then to Riyadh.
“The new road, which will cut the distance between Saudi Arabia and Oman by about 800 kilometres, will be opened soon for the public,” says Ahmad Hilal Al-Busaidi, Omani ambassador.
The new road will promote trade, boost tourism, and, of course, improve Saudi-Omani relations. Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Engineer, Saleh Al Jasser, said the new road would boost commercial trade between the two countries and make travel easier for pilgrims and Umrah performers from Oman.
Creating the road took more than 1.3 million working hours, and the amount of sand moved to build the road totalled 150 million cubic metres, in addition to 12 million cubic metres of protection from sands and one million cubic metres of asphalt layers.
Bring on a long road trip.
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