Sohar Port breaks container throughput record

Muscat – Sohar Port and Freezone released new figures showing a solid growth in the first half of 2017, as both the port and freezone continue to play a crucial role in the diversification and globalisation of Oman’s economy.

Despite ongoing issues in the maritime industry and the continued lull in global oil prices, container volumes in second quarter of 2017 grew 11 per cent from the same quarter last year, as Sohar Port and Freezone emerges as one of the region’s prime logistical hubs, according to a press release.

Container throughput at the Hutchison-managed terminal grew threefold over the past five years, in line with significant investments to increase efficiency to the highest international standards.

Dry bulk cargo also grew significantly at Sohar Port in the first half of 2017, up by 24 per cent in comparison to the first six months of last year. Liquid bulk, general and project cargo figures were down slightly compared to 2016. However, the port has exceeded 1mn tonnes of sea cargo each week, a significant threshold that the Omani logistical hub crossed at the end of 2016 for the first time.

Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of Sohar Port, said, “Sohar is playing an important role in the diversification of Oman’s economy as we start to take full advantage of our prime strategic location in the region, outside the Strait of Hormuz but close to the main consumer markets of Iran and the Gulf States.”