Mr Andre Toet new CEO of Sohar Port and Mr Jamal Aziz CEO of the Sohar Free Zone were both optimistic when they met leading figures in government, business and industry at the Chedi Hotel Muscat recently.
They were able to produce figures which pointed to further healthy growth of both organizations thus offering the opportunity in the long term of further jobs for Omanis in the Batinah North and South Governorates and beyond.
Mr Andre Toet said that “Oman has not been hit so much by the global recession as many other countries. Among those expecting further expansion in Sohar this year is the Brazilian mining giant Vale which now has its Middle East headquarters in Oman. The port’s container terminal is also expected to handle a bigger flow of business as both the Port and Free Zone expand.
Both the Port and the Free Zone are expecting to provide more jobs for Omanis as the port’s location becomes of greater significance being open to global traffic and offering increasingly high class facilities without vessels having to sail in the inner waters of the Gulf.
The overall throughput figures chart the growth of the port over the last five years. The figures on the movement of freight have risen substantially each year with a very big leap in 2011. For the first time in the history of the Port of Sohar a triple digit growth was achieved on the cargo side. Looking at the throughput in 1328448459023480900 freight development there was an increase of well over 100% in 2011 following a slower but steady growth in the past 4 years.
Also notable was the growth in vessel calls which jumped 34% over the previous year. There was also therefore an increase of activity in the anchorage area. What also added to business was that more vessels were calling at Sohar for crew changes, ship to ship operations, bunkering and taking in ship supplies.
The terminals in Sohar benefited from the increased attention to the potential of Sohar. C Steinweg Oman has seen aided by the regional economic recovery, an increase in the handling of steel products and gas related products to levels witnessed in the past. The liquid terminal, Oiltanking Odfjell Terminal has boosted its throughput by starting operations at a new jetty in April last year. This expansion of SIPC's marine infrastructure enabled OOT to secure new, non captive cargo flows from international traders using Sohar as their main hub for chemical trading.
In a further notable achievement in 2011, OICT slightly increased the levels of container handling despite adverse global trading conditions. 2011 was also an important year for dry bulk throughputs in Sohar. Jindal Shadeed Steel went into full production in 2011 and Vale commissioned its first production line. The large imports of iron ore from Vale and the steel pellets from Jindal made a considerable growth to the figures.
For 2012 it is expected that all terminals will see further growth in their activities. During 2011 Free Zone Sohar had laid down a solid foundation for 1328448539553489300 the start of cargo flow operations through the Port and Free Zone. The main infrastructure projects, allowing optimal connectivity within the Free Zone, have started and expect to see completion by Q2 of this year.
With the road infrastructure between the Port and Free Zone already completed, it will support the under construction tenants in the Free Zone to start imports and exports in an efficient way. The first cargo movements will start by next week, emphasizing that the Free Zone is fully up and running.
Indeed, many companies in the Port and Free Zone can now start to look at triple digit growth as the tempo of businesses rises during the coming year with trading in many fields sharply increasing.
(Sourced from main.omanobserver.om)
