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Sohar Port and Freezone has announced an impressive set of results for the first quarter of 2021, recording growth in almost all categories of cargo compared with the same period of last year.
While overall cargo throughput increased by 21% to 17 million tonnes over the first quarter of 2020, dry bulk volumes grew by 25% to almost 9 million tons, breakbulk handling was up by 7% to 426,783 tons and liquid bulk volumes increased by 7% to just over 4 million tons. The number of containers handled increased by 1.8% to 197,000 TEU in this period. In addition, the port also witnessed a spectacular growth rate of 200% in Ship-to-Ship (STS) cargo operations. The only slight backward step was for ro-ro cargo, with the 23,000 wheeled units that were handled in this period representing a 22% drop.
The performance of the Freezone also remains strong. Exports generated over the first quarter were over 100% higher than in the first quarter of 2020. Moreover, there are now companies from 48 different countries registered in the Free Zone, as against 41 at the end of March 2020.
“The first quarter results for 2021 show that there is very strong demand for raw materials for industry and consumer goods, fuelled by the recovery of economies around the world,” commented Mark Geilenkirchen, Chief Executive Officer of Sohar Port. “Our robust business continuity strategy and advantageous position at the crossroads of global trade routes has helped us to manage increased levels of cargo traffic and ensure a seamless and uninterrupted flow of operations to support the national economy.”
