WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2003
The port of Salalah is located 18 Kms south of Salalah City. It is a deepwater port and can accommodate large vessels up to 16meter draft (16.5 meter approach channel). The container terminal has 4 berths totalling 1,236 meter in length. The terminal has a nominal capacity of 2.2 million TEUS a year. The dockside facilities include 11 high speed, 66 ton capacity cranes designed to load ships up to 22 container’s wide. The port has 22 rubber tired gantries and 4 top loaders. There are facilities for over 500 refrigerated containers. The General Cargo Terminal has 11 berths ranging in length from115 meters to 600 meters with drafts up to 16 metres and a dedicated oil pier.
In February 2002 BP Marine and Salalah Port Services Co concluded a bunker fuel supply agreement. Refuelling operations began in February 2002. The location of Salalah along the main east, west-shipping routes makes it a strategic port of call for the world’s container vessels. With World Class facilities and unmatched productivity already available to them, the addition of bunkering services will provide vessels the ability to refuel during their journey, thereby allowing them to carry additional cargo. BP Marine has chartered a 35,000-ton tanker and two refuelling barges according to its exacting specifications to ensure maximum safety and efficiency for the service. In only 4 full years of operation the Port of Salalah can boast having broken the world record twice for the number of container moves achieved per hour. Its impressive productivity records, which are well above, and in some cases more than twice as high as other regional ports, coupled with its state of the art equipment shows the commitment of its employees and from the people of Dhofar runs deep and makes the Port of Salalah “the” port of the future and lays the foundation for success in reaching its goal of becoming one of the six global transhipment hubs.
Development of the container terminal continues and a US$ 245 expansion plan to construct a fifth and sixth berth increasing the ports capacity to approx. 3 million TEU p.a. is under way. The first phase of the plan which is to extend the breakwater by 2.7 km received government approval in January 2003. The port of Salalah has done a great deal to improve the opportunities available for local businesses in Salalah. Since operations began, the container volumes imported and exported solely by local business through the port have increased by 258% and 416%, whilst the general Cargo tonnage imported and exported has increased 37% and 40% respectively. The port of Salalah is the single largest employer in the region and it takes its responsibilities to the business and social community very seriously.
The port sponsors business events, cultural meetings, tourism, charities, environmental programs, schools and hospitals and by choice is very much a positive part of peoples lives in the Dhofar region. The port is one of the few in the region that employs predominantly local labor and the trickle down effect of this has been millions of Rials of extra liquidity to the local economy annually. Preference for purchasing and procurement also goes to local traders. The port meets regularly with port users and government officials to discuss and implement ways to improve the business environment and are active participants in all major business events both locally and nationally In addition to the container terminal the port has facilities to handle most other types of cargo including general cargo, bulk oil, RO-RO and also caters to cruise vessels.
The Sultanate of Oman is the second largest country in the Arabian Gulf, with a coastline stretching 1,700 kilometres from the straits of Hormuz to the border of Yemen. Since the accession of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in 1970 the economy has grown dramatically. The heavy reliance on oil is being reduced in phased projects aimed at diversifying the economy into non-oil sectors, and shifting investment from the public to the private sector. One of the largest of these projects is the Port of Salalah. One of the most endearing aspects of Oman is that it is able to balance the advantages of the technological age against the need to preserve the strong cultural, traditional and spiritual values that characterise its people. True progress is development without the destruction of all that is good within a community or nation. The government of Oman has clearly focused its efforts on improving the lives of its people without compromising the country’s unique culture, human values, or respect for the environment.
When one looks at modern Oman and the considerable achievements that have taken place during the rule of H.M. Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one must also recognise the national priorities that have guided the decisions behind the remarkable growth that has occurred over the past three decades. The Government of Oman owns The Port of Salalah and has given a 30-year concession to Salalah Port Services Co SAOG to manage and operate the facility. Salalah Port Services (SAOG) was formed as an Omani Public Joint Stock Company with a 70% local shareholding and 30% equity held by AP Moller Terminals of Denmark. Salalah Port Services Company SAOG (“SPS”) was incorporated on 15 September 1997 and commenced commercial operations on 1 November 1998. The company is engaged in leasing, equipping, operating and managing the container terminal and conventional port facility at the Port of Salalah. SPS holds the concession for operating and managing this world-class container hub port and is also the Port Authority on behalf of the government making it one of the worlds few fully privatised port facilities.
The vision of the port was to build a world class container terminal that would have a positive effect on the economy, employment rate and tourism of the country and to also position Oman to become a global trading partner. The speed at which the project developed was extraordinary. From the signing of a contract to build the terminal in December 1996 and construction starting in April 1997 a world class container terminal with state of the art equipment was opened in November 1998 with 2 completed berths. Two further berths were delivered 3 months ahead of schedule in April 1999.It is one of the very few ports in the region able to accept the largest container vessels and has one of the highest productivity levels anywhere in the world.
Long known throughout the ancient Arab world for its trade in frankincense, Salalah the capital of the Dhofar region in Southern Oman is once again establishing itself as an important port for the international maritime trade. 400 years ago Omani ships sailed the oceans to China, India, Africa and the Red Sea. The port is seen as a natural sequence to past glory as the Indian ocean rim area, and in particular, the Gulf and Indian sub-continent allows coverage of a large area with over 1.6 billion consumers from a single location saving approximately 3.5 days over other Arabian Gulf ports.
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© Press Release 2004
