Foreign investors eye Oman logistics sector
Leading international companies keen on working with Oman Ministry of Transport & Communications
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Over a dozen foreign companies have expressed interest in collaborating with the Oman Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) for its planned projects worth almost $12 billion in the rail, ports, pipeline and airport sectors.
Besides its $6 billion-worth railway network expanding over 2,250km, several other logistics and transport projects are being undertaken by the MoTC in the country, such as the Duqm, Salalah and Sohar ports, the expansion of Muscat and Salalah International Airport, construction of airports in Adam, Ras Al Hadd, Sohar and Duqm.
Companies such as Global Logistic and Supply Co. from Canada, Japanese Fujimoto Supply Railway and Supply Chain, and India’s Bharat Transport & Logistics Consultancy are reportedly keen on working with the MoTC.
“Oman is positioning itself in a good way to become a major supply chain and logistics hub in the Gulf, partly because of its strategic location and given the size of the country,” Suresh Das, senior project consultant at Bharat Transport & Logistics Consultancy told local daily Times of Oman. Other projects in the country include the construction of a logistic and supply chain in Barka, from the capital Batinah linked to Al Sharqiyah region.
Additionally, a feedstock pipeline worth $2 billion will be constructed to carry crude oil from Ras Al Hamra Terminal to Sohar Industrial Area. International companies are also following the planned facility in Duqm, with an oil storage capacity of 200 million tonnes.
Another construction project expected to attract foreign invesotrs is the Duqm Refinery with Abu Dhabi in 2015, which would require feedstock from Qam Al Alam oil field.