Sohar Port and Freezone throughput rises 14% in second quarter

Muscat: Building on its positive momentum, Sohar Port and Freezone has announced encouraging results for the second quarter of 2021.

Among them, it reported that the port’s handling of goods in and out of the Sultanate (throughput) increased by 14 per cent over the same period in 2020 and Ship-to-Ship (STS) cargo increased by an impressive 168 per cent.

Meanwhile, the number of handled containers came in at 190,000TEU in addition to 804 vessel calls, up by 18 per cent from the same period in 2020. The land occupancy at the freezone has also shown a rise of 10 per cent since the same time last year. With a number of planned projects underway and coming up, Sohar’s strategy to position itself as a central logistics hub in the region is well on track.

“Although the global economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty due to the ongoing pandemic. Given these dynamics, our efforts to refine our business scenarios in order to emerge more resilient and adaptive have shown themselves to be well-placed and projections indicate that we are on course to exceed the amount of cargo that passed through in 2020. The port’s continual growth is a testament to the long-term value that we provide to our clients as we operate safely and efficiently to serve the industrial and economic sectors,” said Mark Geilenkirchen, Chief Executive Officer of Sohar Port.

Omar Mahmood Al Mahrizi, CEO of Sohar Freezone, Deputy CEO of Sohar Port, added, “Sohar’s rise to prominence has been extremely gratifying, but for us, it’s still only the beginning. In alignment with the port’s impressive growth, we continue to make major investments in the freezone, while promoting it, and Oman in general, as a favourable business destination. The strategic location and an amenable trade environment presented a huge potential for our stakeholders and partners. The vision to become a prosperous global trading hub is coming to fruition.”

Sohar’s abundance of energy, raw materials and world-class logistics, coupled with generous incentives for local and international partners and the One-Stop-Shop system for all government clearances, provides a significant advantage for a business that is sure to attract major players in the industry.