Six companies in bid for Oman flood works

Work on the Al Koudh Dam, inland from Muscat, will begin this year. Photo: Getty.

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Oman’s Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources is to beef up the Al Khoudh Dam to repair flood damage and provide better downstream protection for residents after heavy rain the in the region.

Constructed in 1985, the dam has suffered partial damage by heavy rains in the region – the most recent in 2007 when the dam overflowed and caused severe flooding in parts of Seeb Wilayat.

The dam is constructed at the bottom end of the Wadi Samayil, one of the biggest wadis on Oman with a catchment area of around 1,700km².

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Six construction firms — Desert Line Projects, Monte Adriano Middle East, Strabag Oman, Ali & Co Trading, Ariane Engineering & Partners, and Sarooj Construction — are bidding for the Ministry’s multi-million riyal contract, likely to be awarded before the end of this year.

The dam is only 11m high, but the 5.1km embankment built as part of the project created a massive reservoir with a capacity of 14.2 million cubic metres. The new works will not only repair the damage and strengthen the dam with a concrete crest wall, but a downstream control weir will be rebuilt to divert flood flow in to streams and other drainage channels. The previous weir was washed away in previous floods.

The work is part of the Ministry's ongoing flood protection works. A consultant appointed by the Ministry is already undertaking the design of a comprehensive flood protection scheme that will secure Al Khoudh, Seeb and Maabelah, among other areas, from flooding, the Oman Observer reports.