Muscat – The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MoHT) has announced a tender to set up a laboratory to preserve antiquities. The restoration lab will be set up in the ministry building.

According to an MoHT official, the ministry is working to restore numerous archaeological artefacts found through its programmes of research and excavation, including the wreckage of the Esmeralda, which was part of a fleet led by the legendary Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in his second voyage to India (1502-1503).

“In 2016, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture announced that the oldest shipwreck from Europe’s Golden Age of Exploration had been found off the coast of Oman. The wreck was initially located in 1998 and excavated between 2013 and 2015 in a partnership between the ministry and the shipwreck recovery company Bluewater Recoveries Ltd,” the official said.

“MoHT invites interested parties to bid to set up the laboratory. The last date for submission of bids is February 9, 2022,”

Additionally, the ministry has announced a tender for investment in five tourist sites to capitalise on historical structures at these places.

The five tourist sites open for investment are Bukha Castle in the wilayat of Bukha, Musandam governorate; Harat al Jama in the wilayat of Adam, Dakhliyah governorate; Harat al Ramal in the wilayat of Ibri, Dhahirah governorate; Burj al Askar in the wilayat of Taqa, Dhofar governorate; and Burj Thiajr in the wilayat of Mirbat, Dhofar governorate.

The ministry announced the tender with the aim of allowing the local community to invest in these tourist sites and called on those interested to submit an action plan for the development of these five tourist sites.

The deadline for submission of bids is February 3, 2022.