Transport and Communications Minister Al Futaisi inspects Sohar Port work progress

Sohar: Work is under way to ensure integration of the logistics services and facilities and streamline the efforts of the private and public sectors, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications said on Tuesday during an inspection visit to Sohar Port.
He inspected progress of work at the container terminal managed by Oman International Container Terminal Company (OICT) and the general cargo terminal of C. Steinweg Oman LLC.
The visit included reviewing the progress of work at the container terminal managed by OICT of Hutchison (HPH) in Hong Kong. Dr. Al Futaisi toured the facilities for handling vessels, containers and trucks. He hailed the efforts exerted by the terminal management to avail the needed resources and impart modern technologies.
The Minister of Transport and Communications also praised equipping the terminal with gantry cranes and other facilities to ensure satisfaction of exporters and importers as well. He also reviewed the general cargo terminal of C. Steinweg Oman LLC, operated by the Netherland-based Steinweg Company.
He toured the facilities for handling the different types of goods including the crushers materials. In this regard, additional land plots inside the Port have been allocated by the Port management to collect the crushers materials near the shipping terminals.
Dr. Al Futaisi said that the current stage is an important turning point to make the Sultanate a regional hub for logistic services and investments. He noted that the efforts made by the Sohar Port management contribute to achieving this aim.
He added that work is under way to ensure integration of the logistics services and facilities and streamline the efforts of the private and public sectors to enhance the Sultanate’s competitiveness. “Sohar Port has played a key and pivotal role during the last period to meet the needs of the new marine routes and keep pace with modern development in logistic services,” he said.
On the sidelines of the visit, Dr. Al Futaisi met with a number of officials at Sohar Port and the General Administration of Customs at Royal Oman Police (ROP), as well as inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health.
He also reviewed the readability of these organisations to meet the needs of clearance and custom clearance for all goods at different times including holidays to meet the needs of the work at the handling terminals during these times.