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Khasab, which is known as a leisure tourism destination, is close to Iran and overlooks the Gulf of Oman and Hormuz Strait in the Arabian Gulf. Khanna said the port has facilities like a 300-metre quay wall, a building for passengers, a fisheries harbour, four storage shed and open storage area. It is ideally placed to serve maritime traffic linking Iran and other regional countries.

The concession agreement is expected to be for a long-term like any other port in the Sultanate. The responsibility of developing the infrastructure facility at the port is with the government. "It is a green field port. There is a plan to further develop the port facility by building another 460-metre-long quay wall, a separate jetty for ferry services," he noted. The government will soon carry out dredging at the port as part of enhancing facilities.

"There will be a separate area for tourists. Our role is to market the port efficiently and to develop the port to capitalise on tourism," he said, adding, "We have initial discussions with shipping agents to attract tourists to Khasab. This is the way we are going to work." However, the trading activity at the port is limited. There are proposals to develop industries with locally available materials. There are certain clauses to operate the port efficiently to make it viable. "We have the support from the government," he noted.

There is also a proposal to develop a free trade zone in Khasab to make it a trans-shipment hub. "This is our long-term plan," he said, adding, "The port can serve the needs of traders in Iran due to its proximity." The move by the government to assign the joint venture to manage the port is expected to give a new impetus to the port. A major focused area in Khasab is tourism.

There are a number of tourism offices and agencies catering to the growing number of tourists who flock to its naturally breathtaking landscape. The residents of Khasab are also engaged in trading activity, which depends heavily on import from and export to the neighbouring United Arab Emirates. Contracting and animal breeding are other economic activities of the wilayat.

By A E James

© Oman Daily Observer 2007

 

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