Oman Daily Observer reported that rail connectivity between Dhofar and the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia could potentially position the Port of Salalah as a new maritime gateway for trade with the booming commercial heartland of the Gulf.

Mr Peter Ford CEO of Port of Salalah said that extended rail links from Salalah, over and above those envisaged under the Oman National Rail System, would help further the vision of the nation's biggest port to become the distribution and logistics hub of the region.

He added that "Current plans to connect us to the coast of Oman and into the UAE could spell an entire shift in the supply chain for this region, more towards the European and American models, where new overland routes become the way of doing things rather than bringing vessels up into the Straits of Hormuz. Time will tell, but it presents significant opportunity for investigation."

Mr Ford further added that "I would also love to see a connection between Salalah and Riyadh. Considering its strategic value and size of the Saudi market, there is a significant opportunity for Oman to get into the role of the real GCC player they envision themselves to become. Between those two links, you would service the entire GCC and become the entry or hub port entry in the region."

The CEO's comments came during a panel discussion held as part of the Oman Transport Infrastructure Summit, organized by Global Exhibitions & Conferences in partnership with IQPC, last week. Also taking part in the panel discussions was Mr Awadh Salim al Shanfari CEO of Salalah Free Zone Company.

The Oman National Rail System currently envisions a link that starts from Khatmat Malaha on the Sultanate's northern border with the UAE. The alignment extends south to the Port of Sohar and Muscat, and onward to Duqm and Salalah beyond. Tributary lines from Sohar to Al Ain, and possibly from Thamrait to Al Mazyouna on the Yemen border, are also on the cards.

Speaking at the Summit, Mr Ford made a strong pitch for rail connectivity between Dhofar and the Riyadh region, arguing that Salalah's ideal location places it within economic distance of large swathes of the Saudi market.

He said that "I see it as a huge opportunity for Oman to service a large market. The obvious idea and opportunity is to connect and make a much faster transit time between Riyadh both for import and export through Salalah or through Oman to get to Asia and the rest of the world on the East side."

He stressed that rail connectivity was far more economical than road transport because of the significant distance, over 1,000 kilometers, between Salalah and Riyadh. He said that "The economic distances for rail are somewhere in the order of 450 kilometers to 500 kilometers at a minimum. So basically Salalah is then the right location to economically service the northern areas of the region by rail rather than truck."

Overland transport by truck is presently impractical because a blacktop linking the two countries terminates on the Oman side of the border. Plans for an onward link towards Riyadh have not materialized yet.

Earlier, Mr Peter Ford welcomed comments by Mr Said bin Hamdoon al Harthy, under secretary for Ports and Maritime Affairs, emphasizing that Omani ports are being developed to complement and not compete with each other. He said that "The move of any shipping line from Port of Salalah to another national port has no economic benefit to the country and will result in job losses in Salalah, which is contrary to the government's policy of job creation nationwide."

Asked if the Port of Duqm, currently under development on the Wusta coast, was likely to pose any threat to Port of Salalah's business, Mr Ford replied that "On the contrary, I see Duqm benefiting significantly from Salalah, and Salalah Free Zone also helps with that. The location of Duqm is optimum for serving the middle of Oman and the petrochemical and mineral rich areas of the Wusta region. But Duqm is not on the main trade lines or East West shipping routes, so there will be significant deviation for vessels to use it as anything other than a local call. That supports the government view on the need for ports to complement rather than compete with each other. It doesn't make sense to carve up a pie even further, but to make the pie a bit larger. That's the focus."

(Sourced from www.omanobserver.com)