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A Belgian-Emirati joint venture formed by Dredging International and Earth Moving Worldwide has been awarded a $24 million contract by Oman’s Sohar Port and Free Zone, as part of a major port expansion project. The deal will create a further 50 hectares of usable port land, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
Development of Sohar Port South requires extensive land reclamation work, and this represents the next phase of the project. When the entire project is completed, around 2km² of land will have been added to the present area of the port, which currently stands at 20km².
Chief executive officer of Sohar Port and Free Zone, Mark Geilenkirchen, said: “This expansion is essential for Sohar to compete on a larger scale, and highlights our emergence as a logistics hub of choice within the Middle East. The land area added at the port will significantly boost cargo traffic and will create fresh job opportunities for Omanis. Investors are lining up to take advantage of the additional space being offered as part of the Sohar Port South development.”
In a further important initiative, Sohar Port and Freezone signed an agreement with Sohar Flour Mills for the lease of a 10 hectare plot within the port area for the construction and management of 12 grain storage silos, each with a storage capacity of 13,000 tonnes. Under the terms of the agreement, Sohar Flour Mills will also oversee the construction and development of a new agri-bulk terminal and deep water berth which will be dedicated to handling the rapidly growing volumes of agro commodities moving through port. This new agri-bulk terminal at the port will be dedicated to the import and export of wheat, rice, barley, and other grains, and will be able to load and unload grain at a rate of 600 tonnes an hour.
