Sohar reports solid H1 2016 growth

News 2 Sep 2016 by WCN Editorial

Breakbulk cargo volumes soared 43% to over 1.2Mt and container traffic was up 18.6% to 313,000TEU int he first six months of the year.

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The positive results reflected growth in the local economy, ongoing investment in the port’s neighbouring industrial and free trade zones, which increased imports and exports, and widespread infrastructure improvement programmes across the country.

The strong rise in cargo volumes at Sohar was in sharp contrast to most ports in the world which struggled as a consequence of much weaker growth in the global economy and softer than expected cargo flows.

“Despite any current global economic uncertainties, these figures confirm we are in the right place at the right time,” explained Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of Sohar Port and Freezone. “We will take full advantage of our prime and strategic location and continue to expand our operations and support growth in our tenants’ businesses.”

In many respects, the focus at the port is on raising overall efficiency and productivity levels. Recently, Oman International Container Terminal, a company in which HPH is a shareholder, took delivery of four new super-post-panamax cranes that can be operated by remote control.

“I am proud to say that our investments in Sohar have helped us create the world-class facility we can see working at peak efficiency today,” said Albert Pang, CEO of OICT. “We are handling more frequent direct calls from mega-vessels at Terminal C, which can handle the latest class of 20,000 TEU container ships. The construction of Terminal D will increase our annual handling capacity fourfold, to six million TEU, and construction may start as early as late 2018 or early 2019.”