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The official inauguration of the Port of Duqm was held in early February under the auspices of H.H Sayyid Asad bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations & Cooperation Affairs in the presence of their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians.
Speaking at the ceremony, Eng. Ahmed Hassan Al Dheeb, Deputy Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) stressed the importance of this milestone, and the great importance of this project in contributing to the Omani economy
The port consists of three main berths, including a commercial berth, a government cargo berth and a liquid materials berth. The total length of the breakwaters is about 8.7 km, the port ‘s basin depth is 18m, while the entry channel is 19m deep, allowing it to handle the world’s largest container ships and VLCCs.
Al Dheeb pointed out that one of the most important components of the port is its four container ship-to-shore cranes and 12 landside stacking cranes. The installation of these cranes in the port will start in March 2022, with an expected completion in early 2023. The process to attract a strong container terminal operator to the port is well on its way, following a worldwide tender.
Additionally, Duqm’s liquid bulk terminal is nearly ready to start export operations from the refinery, and in the medium term green ammonia will be shipped from Hyport Duqm.
The Port of Duqm has been developed with strong support from the Port of Antwerp. Annick De Ridder, Chairperson of the board of directors of Antwerp Port Authority reflected this is a collaboration that started 12 years ago.
She said, “In 2010, the Antwerp Port Authority established Port of Antwerp International (PAI) and the very first international project of PAI was the shareholding participation in the Port of Duqm Company. While PAI has strong ambitions for further internationalisation, the Port of Duqm is and will always remain an important part of our growing international network.”
