New shiploading system to boost mineral exports from Salalah Port
MAJOR UPGRADE: Modern, multi-million dollar equipment due to be operational at maritime hub soon
Port of Salalah anticipates a significant ramp-up in throughput volumes at its already busy General Cargo Terminal (GCT) when a newly acquired mobile shiploading system becomes operational later this year.
The equipment, supplied by Northern Ireland material handling systems manufacturer Telestack, will come as a shot-in-the-arm for Dhofar Governorate’s burgeoning mining and mineral processing industry, centring on the export of limestone, gypsum and cement via Salalah Port.
The multimillion dollar system will go a long way in boosting operational efficiency and productivity at the port’s General Cargo Terminal in line with escalating demand growth, according to Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrzi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Salalah Port Services Co SAOG.
“The recently received mobile ship loaders are expected to improve productivity,” said Al Mehrzi. “As the volumes continue to grow in the GCT we will review and look at ways to modernise the operations,” he stated in the Directors’ Report of the hub’s financial and operational performance for the nine months ending September 30, 2018.
Telestack, a global leader in material handling equipment manufacturing, says the system supplied to the Port of Salalah is the first of its kind to be delivered to a port organisation anywhere in the world. Weighing around 560 tonnes, the shiploaders are primarily designed to load limestone, gypsum and cement clinker, which account for the lion’s share of volumes handled at the General Cargo Terminal.
The system also has the added benefits of mobility, flexibility and a lower cost per tonne achieved by increased production rates, reduced cycle times and reduced labour costs, the company noted.
Salalah Port’s General Cargo Terminal currently handles close to one million tonnes of bulk commodities per month — figures that are expected to rise exponentially when the new shiploaders are operational.
Volumes handled during the first nine months of this year climbed to 11.4 million tonnes, up from 10.27 million tonnes for the corresponding period of 2017. The uptick was registered despite a pair of tropical storms that caused significant impact to the port and much of Dhofar Governorate.
Revenues were up 24 per cent at the General Cargo Terminal this year, compared to the same period last year. Gypsum exports have continued to grow, as well as other local commodities including grains, liquids, and cement, according to the Directors’ Report.