MUSCAT -- The Port of Sohar will shortly launch the process of selecting an operator for a new bulk terminal for aggregates and minerals under construction at the industrial port. A Request for Proposals (RfP) is due to be floated within a fortnight inviting firms to submit their offers for a license to operate the terminal on a long-term concession. In addition, the selected operator will also secure on lease a sizable plot of land within the industrial port for the establishment of a stockyard for all kinds of aggregates, minerals and related bulk commodities.
The bulk terminal is a key part of Sohar Industrial Port Company's (SIPC) vision to catalyse industrial-scale investment in mining, quarrying and mineral processing activities across the Batinah region, using Sohar as a gateway and international hub for trades in bulk commodities. The bulk terminal, boasting a water depth of -16 metres, is being built as a separate extension of a massive 1,380-metre-long deepwater jetty project currently under construction at the Port of Sohar which costs around $250 million. This deep water jetty project is designed to primarily support the bulk shipping needs of Brazilian mining conglomerate Vale, which is building a huge iron ore pelletising and distribution centre at the industrial port.
A 220-metre-long length adjacent to the jetty-trestle will be earmarked for the development of a bulk terminal catering to bulk imports and exports of aggregates, as well as other possible commodities like limestone, coal, cement, copper concentrates, and chromite, among other mineral ores. The bulk terminal, serving both import and export cargoes, will have a capacity to handle 6 - 10 million tonnes of aggregates and dry bulk commodities per year. While SIPC is developing the jetty infrastructure, the selected operator will be required to invest in the terminal superstructure, such as loaders and unloaders, terminal buildings, and utilities.
In addition, the operator will also invest in a conveyor system linking the bulk terminal with the stockyard located just behind L&T Heavy Engineering's site at the industrial port. The conveyor system, designed and built to the latest environmental criteria, will run along a dedicated corridor running the length of the jetty structure all the way to the stockyard. Set on a 32-hectare plot, the stockyard itself will be suitably developed to serve not only as a storage site for all kinds of aggregates, ores, and other bulk commodities, but also for a range of blending and other value addition activities. Thus, for example, the selected operator can invest not only in silos, barns and yards for the storage of different grades of aggregates and bulk commodities, but also in facilities suitable for mixing and blending commodities according to the customers' requirements.
Significantly, the bulk terminal is expected to position Sohar Port as a hub for aggregates, mineral ores and other dry bulk commodities. With terminal infrastructure for bulk imports and exports in place, investments in upstream and downstream elements of the business chain are expected to flow into Sohar and the wider Batinah region, particularly the free zone being developed alongside the industrial port. In selecting an operator for the bulk terminal and stockyard, SIPC will be looking for companies with unrivalled expertise, and strong financial credentials, in the handling of bulk commodities. Investors with expertise in the operation of bulk commodities such as coal, cement and other bulk terminals are expected to bid for SIPC's licence.
An award is likely before the end of this year, it is learnt. Pending the completion of the bulk terminal, targeted for completion by the first quarter of 2012, SIPC already has earmarked a 250-metre length of an existing quay wall, for the temporary handling of aggregates and bulk commodities. The operator will also have access to open yard space lying behind the quay wall, which can be used as temporary storage pending the development of the dedicated stockyard within the industrial port. The objective, say officials, is to allow for the selected operator to kick-start dry bulk terminal operations at the Port of Sohar immediately upon the announcement of a concession award.
By Conrad Prabhu
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
