Different types of infrastructures

Introduction

Infrastructure refers to the main systems and structures that are used for serving a country's economy and they are the facilities that are used by the public for facilitating their services related to an industry or a business, they help the economy to develop and are important for the function of that economy. Infrastructure can be defined as the physical elements composing interrelated systems in order to provide services and commodities needed for enhancing and sustaining the living conditions of the society. Tervala and Ganelli, (2007) In Oman, there are different types of infrastructure and they are very important and necessary to the country's economy such as the four types discussed here which are roads and high ways in Muscat, Sultan Qaboos Port waterfront-Muscat, Sohar port terminal OICT and roads and highways in Sohar. They are discussed through the effect they leave on the Omani society and economy and how to face the challenges suffered by the government as a result of them with recommendations to face such challenges.

Problem statement

Infrastructures in Oman, Sohar and Muscat may cause a challenge against the work the Omani government is doing to provide the people living in Oman with the best services and facilities via such infrastructures and this requires hard work and effort to be exerted by the government to face such challenges.

Chapter 2

Discussion

1. Roads and high ways in Muscat 

More than 25% of Oman’s 2.7 million residents live in the Muscat which is the Capital city of Oman. The economic growth of the Sultanate is very strong which increased vehicle ownership and this lead to a sever traffic congestion along roads and their junctions. Although the different done development to Al Sultan Qaboos street and turning it from a track road to a carriageway to a six-lane configuration, traffic problems are still found till the Sultanate tried to make the Muscat Expressway in 2001 which is 54-km-long (33.6-mi-long) which alleviated congestion of traffic and provided access to areas that were hard to be reached which helped develop the economic growth of the area through an efficient transportation network that serves development. The project provides socioeconomic and environmental benefits through reducing congestion across the capital area and reducing times and distances of travel. The country worked hard to overcome different challenges such as lack of car parks and expensive materials for making the way by establishing appropriate construction specifications and using high-quality local products as well as employing the best regional talents to apply the project in less costs and higher quality. (Parsons, 2016)

2. Sultan Qaboos Port waterfront-Muscat

This is a project that the government is doing with the help of The Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) that is doing the project in Mina Al Sultan Qaboos Waterfront in Muscat which aims at transforming the commercial port of Sultan Qaboos to a development that is based on tourism and this means the place will include touristic areas such as hotels, malls, business zones and other tourist attractions in addition to different facilities for yachts and cruiseliners. The first plan for this development was made in 2015 and is meant to finish in 2020 on four main phases with the help of private sector investors.

3. Oman International Container Terminal at SOHAR Port

This new facility is made to solve many problems such as loading heavy loads on ships and other automation problems as it allows the remote operation of recently installed quayside cranes which have enough reach to load and unload 20,000 TEU ships. The OICT helps in accessing of vessels to Sohar Port and enables large containers to enter the port easily without long waiting times.  It helps increase cargos and ships movement in Sohar Port. The growth is efficiency and size of OICT opened different gates for ships and cargos and opened a new gateway for the whole Gulf area. (Soharportand freezone, 2016)

4. Roads and highways in Sohar - Sohar Highway Interchange (Oman)

The Globe Roundabout in Sohar was a very busy junction and an important one that connects Oman's No. 1 and No. 8 highways. The roads there suffered high traffic flow and to solve the problem a reconstruction project was established to improve busy and heavy traffic flow which is a flyover which is very long was established to carry Highway No. 1 across the junction. The project included a process of converting of 4 km of highway from having four lanes to have six lanes which enabled many people to pass and this reduced congestion on roads. The flyover, consists of twin parallel structures and it was opened in 2014. This project was established by the Omani government to reduce traffic jam in Sohar roads and to enable more cars to pass. (mageba-group, 2016)

Chapter 3

Finding discussion

The Omani government faces many challenges in creating good infrastructure in Oman especially in Muscat and Sohar as they are the biggest cities in Oman and these challenges include the continuous demand for development in infrastructure and how to meet the needs of people and business investments occurring in the two big cities. The government tries to focus on highways, roads, ports services in order to develop relevant services presented for people and businesses and this represents a big load over the government as it needs workers, engineers and talents who are able to present the best developments that can help the economy, business institutions and individuals. Challenges are also in the financial support needed for such great and huge projects as the government suffers huge amounts of money needed for developing such infrastructure as money is needed for workers in these projects and for the materials needed to present the projects in its best images. Challenges can be also in the need for experts who can provide the projects to match with local and international standards of quality and safety and to avoid any errors that may make the project fail or need more development in recent future. The government also suffers the growth of the Omani population and incomes which lead to more people who need more services and more infrastructure developments.  

Conclusion and recommendation

In conclusion, it is important to refer to the need and importance of infrastructure in any developed country as infrastructure represents the level of quality and advance the country has. In Oman, the government is trying hard to develop its infrastructure especially in big cities such as Muscat and Sohar as the government is doing different projects such as roads and high ways in Muscat, , Sohar port terminal OICT and roads and highways in Sohar in order to develop them and find solution for different problems related to them. It is recommended that the Omani government asks help from private sector companies such as in Sultan Qaboos Port waterfront-Muscat project as this reduces the financial loads over the government and provides it with workers and experts. The government is also recommended to focus more on using the local resources including materials and human resources instead of using foreign ones as this can help in reducing the problems of exporting these resources or looking for them abroad.