26 February 2007
MUSCAT -- Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), one of the world's biggest metal and mining companies, is expected to shortly conclude its feasibility study for a planned iron ore pelletising project at the Port of Sohar. Total investment in the proposed venture is estimated at over $1 billion. Details about the project, and other industrial and infrastructure developments at the port, were outlined during a presentation by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC) to a visiting delegation from the German Business Councils of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
German investments in Sohar total around $700 million, representing the biggest ever investment by Germany anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula.
Dr Armin Koessler, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in the Sultanate, among other senior Embassy staff, also attended the presentation. "The feasibility study by CVRD is expected to be rounded off by March," said Jaap van Dalen, SIPC's Executive Commercial Manager, who along with Nasser Mohammed al Hajri, Executive Technical Manager, made the presentation to the visitors. "If found feasible, negotiations will commence in April, and upon the conclusion of an agreement, construction will start by the end of this year." Last November, SIPC -- the landlord and port authority of the Port of Sohar, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazil-based CVRD to evaluate the implementation of a new pelletising plant to be located in the industrial port.
As part of the MoU, CVRD agreed to conduct a feasibility study for a 7.5 million tonne iron ore pellet plant in Sohar. SIPC, for its part, undertook to assess the feasibility of a deep draft port facility, which could accommodate vessels of 23 metres draft or more for the envisaged plant. CVRD, which has a presence in 16 countries on five continents, is a market leader in the production and export of iron ore and pellets. The company, which also has operations in 14 Brazilian states, is also an important global producer of copper, bauxite, alumina, aluminium, potassium, kaolin, manganese and iron alloys. CVRD's pellet production is being expanded from 36 million to 50 million tonnes of pellet capacity per annum.
According to officials, CVRD will supply 100 per cent of the iron ore for the proposed Sohar pellet plant. The raw material will be shipped in ultra-large ore carriers, which will necessitate the construction of four berths with drafts of at least 23 metres. The proposed plant is slated to come on stream in 2010. If reckoned to be feasible, the project is expected to be built on a site originally earmarked for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will now be shifted to an area to the west of the industrial port.
Conveyor belts will be constructed to carry the ore from the berth to the plant site, while a similar system of conveyor belts will return the finished product the iron pellets to the berth for export. Potential export markets include the Gulf and Middle East, where a number of direct reduction iron (DRI) projects are either operational or under development. With demand for steel growing exponentially in the region, the proposed Sohar pellet project is expected to be a major success, officials add.
MUSCAT -- Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), one of the world's biggest metal and mining companies, is expected to shortly conclude its feasibility study for a planned iron ore pelletising project at the Port of Sohar. Total investment in the proposed venture is estimated at over $1 billion. Details about the project, and other industrial and infrastructure developments at the port, were outlined during a presentation by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC) to a visiting delegation from the German Business Councils of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
German investments in Sohar total around $700 million, representing the biggest ever investment by Germany anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula.
Dr Armin Koessler, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in the Sultanate, among other senior Embassy staff, also attended the presentation. "The feasibility study by CVRD is expected to be rounded off by March," said Jaap van Dalen, SIPC's Executive Commercial Manager, who along with Nasser Mohammed al Hajri, Executive Technical Manager, made the presentation to the visitors. "If found feasible, negotiations will commence in April, and upon the conclusion of an agreement, construction will start by the end of this year." Last November, SIPC -- the landlord and port authority of the Port of Sohar, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazil-based CVRD to evaluate the implementation of a new pelletising plant to be located in the industrial port.
As part of the MoU, CVRD agreed to conduct a feasibility study for a 7.5 million tonne iron ore pellet plant in Sohar. SIPC, for its part, undertook to assess the feasibility of a deep draft port facility, which could accommodate vessels of 23 metres draft or more for the envisaged plant. CVRD, which has a presence in 16 countries on five continents, is a market leader in the production and export of iron ore and pellets. The company, which also has operations in 14 Brazilian states, is also an important global producer of copper, bauxite, alumina, aluminium, potassium, kaolin, manganese and iron alloys. CVRD's pellet production is being expanded from 36 million to 50 million tonnes of pellet capacity per annum.
According to officials, CVRD will supply 100 per cent of the iron ore for the proposed Sohar pellet plant. The raw material will be shipped in ultra-large ore carriers, which will necessitate the construction of four berths with drafts of at least 23 metres. The proposed plant is slated to come on stream in 2010. If reckoned to be feasible, the project is expected to be built on a site originally earmarked for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will now be shifted to an area to the west of the industrial port.
Conveyor belts will be constructed to carry the ore from the berth to the plant site, while a similar system of conveyor belts will return the finished product the iron pellets to the berth for export. Potential export markets include the Gulf and Middle East, where a number of direct reduction iron (DRI) projects are either operational or under development. With demand for steel growing exponentially in the region, the proposed Sohar pellet project is expected to be a major success, officials add.
By Conrad Prabhu
© Oman Daily Observer 2007
