Oman has announced the official Eid Al Fitr holidays and salary payment deadlines for private sector establishments in the country.

According to an Oman Observer report, the Ministry of Labour has informed entities subject to the provisions of the Labour Law, as issued by Royal Decree No. 2023/53, of their obligation to ensure the early payment of wages to workers for March 2025 by no later than March 27, 2025.

Read-Eid Al Fitr 2025: GCC countries announce long holidays

Regarding the Eid Al Fitr holidays, the days off have been prescribed in accordance with the Royal directives of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.

It has been decided that the Eid holiday for employees in units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus, other legal entities, and workers in private sector establishments will begin on Saturday, 29 Ramadan 1446, corresponding to March 29, 2025.

However, the holidays will apply based on two scenarios:

• If the first day of Eid Al Fitr falls on Sunday, March 30: The holiday will end on Tuesday, 3 Shawwal 1446 AH, corresponding to April 1. Official working hours will resume on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
• If the first day of Eid falls on Monday, March 31: The holiday will end on Thursday, 4 Shawwal 1446 AH, corresponding to April 3. Official working hours will resume on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

In cases where necessary, work may be carried out during the specified holiday period, provided that employees are compensated in accordance with applicable regulations.

The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai opened a new and major three-lane bridge on Sunday, March 23. The bridge is designed to enhance traffic movement from Infinity Bridge through Al Mina Street to the intersection of Sheikh Rashid Road and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street.

The 1,210-metre bridge features three lanes and has a capacity of 4,800 vehicles per hour, a Dubai Media Office report said.

Read-Dubai’s RTA launches new policy: Zero waiting time for 82 services

The bridge not only expedites the flow of traffic but also facilitates movement right from the Infinity Bridge via Al Mina Street to Sheikh Rashid Road, extending to its intersection with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street. It will also ease commutes for drivers in Dubai by improving connectivity to key residential and commercial areas, including Al Hudaiba, Al Raffa, Al Jafiliya, Al Mankhool, Al Kifaf, and Al Karama.

Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project

The opening of the bridge is part of Phase 4 of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, which spans 4.8 km along Sheikh Rashid Road, from its intersection with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street to the Falcon Intersection on Al Mina Street.

Phase 4 includes the construction of five bridges, totalling 3.1 kilometres, with a combined capacity of 19,400 vehicles per hour across all lanes.

This project also involves the development of a 4.8 kilometre road, improvements to surface intersections on Jumeirah Street, Al Mina Street, and Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street, as well as the construction of two pedestrian bridges—one on Sheikh Rashid Road and the other on Al Mina Street.

The Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project is one of RTA’s largest ongoing projects and has already achieved remarkable progress.

Spanning over a distance of 13 kilometres, the corridor extends along Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Mina Street, Al Khaleej Street, and Cairo Street, involving the development of 15 intersections.

Due to its scale and complexity, the project has been divided into five phases.

How will the commuters benefit from the completion of the project?

This corridor improves connectivity between Deira and Bur Dubai while supporting major developments, including Dubai Islands, Deira Waterfront, Dubai Maritime City, and Port Rashid.

The Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project is expected to benefit one million residents upon completion, ensuring smoother traffic flow, increasing road capacity and efficiency, and significantly reducing travel time from 104 minutes to just 16 minutes by 2030.

Additionally, the project is designed to enhance road safety standards while delivering an estimated Dhs45bn in economic benefits over the next 20 years.

Two more bridges to open this year

As the RTA completes 90 per cent of Phase 4 of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, the two remaining bridges are scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2025.

The first bridge, spanning 780 metres, features three lanes and a capacity of 4,800 vehicles per hour, improving traffic flow from Infinity Bridge through Al Mina Street towards Al Wasl Street.

The second bridge, extending 985 metres, consists of two lanes with a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour, serving traffic from Jumeirah Street towards Al Mina Street and the Falcon intersection.

“Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project is being implemented under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, with the close follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. The project is designed to support ongoing urban development along the corridor while meeting the demands of urban and population growth,” Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, stated.

The UAE has committed to a 10-year, $1.4tn investment framework in the United States after top UAE officials met President Donald Trump this week, the White House said on Friday.

The framework will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the US economy” in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing, the White House said in a statement.

The White House did not outline how UAE investments would reach $1.4tn, with some of the deals unveiled as part of the framework having already been announced.

The only fully new deal appeared to be an investment by Emirates Global Aluminium in what would be the first new aluminum smelter in the United States in 35 years, the White House said, adding the plant “would nearly double U.S. domestic aluminum production”.

“Developing a primary aluminium smelter in the U.S. has been part of EGA’s ambitions for several years,” a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement.

The UAE is looking to deepen investment ties with Washington and is emerging as a global leader in AI, one of the sectors it is betting on to diversify its economy away from energy.

In September, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met former US President Joe Biden, in the first visit of a UAE president to the White House, as the two leaders discussed deepening cooperation in areas such as AI, investments and space exploration.

Gulf sovereign wealth funds, including Abu Dhabi’s $330bn Mubadala, are already big U.S. investors, and Trump and his family have business ties to the region.

Oval Office Meeting

Trump in January asked Saudi Arabia to spend upwards of $1tn in the U.S. economy, over four years, including purchases of military equipment, and said this month he likely would make his first trip abroad to the Gulf country to seal an investment agreement.

The deal, which could happen between this month or the next, would come at a time when Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy, has been taking a more prominent role in US foreign policy. The Gulf country is set to host diplomatic talks around Ukraine involving the United States and Russia next week.

The White House said on Friday the UAE agreement resulted from a meeting that Trump held on Tuesday with national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Oval Office and a dinner that Vice President JD Vance and several cabinet members held with the UAE delegation, which included the heads of major UAE sovereign wealth funds and corporations.

Among the tie-ups highlighted on Friday was a partnership between UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ, which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, and US private equity firm Energy Capital Partners, for a $25bn US-focused initiative to invest in energy infrastructure and data centers. That had been previously announced two days ago.

A commitment by XRG, the international investment arm of UAE state oil company ADNOC launched in November, to support U.S. natural gas production and exports with an investment in the NextDecade liquefied natural gas export facility in Texas, had previously been made public last year by ADNOC, under Biden.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) in UAE has forecast cloudy and occasionally dusty weather during the day, today.

According to a WAM report, the entity has also predicted light rainfall, especially over western areas and islands.

Rain-UAE weather forecast: Cloudy, rainy days on the horizon

Temperatures are also expected to drop significantly, while winds will range from light to moderate, becoming active to strong at times — particularly over the sea — and may stir up dust and sand over land during the daytime.

NCM, in its daily weather report had also stated that winds will be north-westerly, with speeds ranging from 15 to 25 kilometer per hour, reaching up to 45 kilometer per hour at times.

The GCC countries are set to enjoy long holidays during Eid Al Fitr this year.

The official Eid holidays in Saudi Arabia will begin on Sunday, March 30, and work will resume on Thursday, April 3. Employees will enjoy a long holiday, with Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, already off as weekend days.

Read- Eid Al Fitr 2025: UAE announces holiday for private sector

According to a report by Al Arabiya News, students, on the other hand, will start their Eid Al Fitr break on March 20 and resume classes on April 6, in line with the education ministry’s academic calendar.

However, the actual date of the first day of Eid Al Fitr will be confirmed when the crescent moon is sighted.

Read on-Eid Al Fitr in Oman: A week-long holiday awaits

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) in Kuwait has stated that the Eid Al Fitr holidays at all ministries, governmental bodies, and public institutions will be determined based on the first day of Eid.

The CSC announced that if the first day of Eid Al Fitr falls on Sunday (March 30), the official holidays will last for three days, from Sunday (March 30) to Tuesday (April 1), with work resuming on Wednesday, April 2.

Must know-UAE: Eid Al Fitr holiday announced for federal govt employees

A statement from the commission also conveyed that if the first day of Eid Al Fitr falls on Monday (March 31), the official holidays will extend to five days, from Sunday (March 30) to Thursday (April 3), with work resuming on Sunday, April 6.

State agencies will determine their Eid Al Fitr holiday schedules, taking public interest into consideration, according to the CSC, a report by the Kuwait News Agency said.

March 30 is expected to be the first day of Eid Al Fitr 1446 AH in Qatar.

The Qatar Calendar House statement, based on astronomical calculations conducted by its specialists, confirmed this date, as reported by Peninsula Qatar. The crescent moon for this year’s Shawwal (the 10th lunar month) will be born on the evening of Saturday, March 29, at 1:58 pm Doha local time (10:58 am GMT).

Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, had also issued a circular with regards to Eid Al Fitr holidays in the country.

The circular stipulates that the ministries and public institutions in Bahrain will close on the day of Eid Al-Fitr and the two days that follow, a report in Bahrain News Agency said.