Currently the only land route between the towns of Khasab in the Norht and Diba in the South in Musandam is a track road. It comprises many sharp curves and very steep gradients which allow only 4WD vehicles to travel. Moreover, as the track passes through deep wadis, it is closed to traffic during floods for extensive periods of time.

A new and shorter route
The government has decided to establish a road between Khasab and Diba on the east coast of the peninsula. The road will be a single carriageway asphalt road about 112 km in length, which is shorter than the existing route by more than 100 km.

COWI has been awarded the contract of design review, preliminary and final design as well as preparation of revised tender documents for the 92 km southern section between Al-Khalidiya and Diba. The first 21 km section from Khasab to Al-Khalidiya is already under construction.

Impassable area The area along the eastern sea-coast is rugged with the mountain slopes descending directly to the coastline with elevations typically about 1000 m and peaks of up to 2,500 m above sea level. There is no existing track along this alignment and as such it is not accessible for most of the length except for a few kilometres near Diba in the South. The new road will pass through the coastal township of Lima, which at present is only accessible by boat.