Tuesday 21 / January / 2025
Muscat: Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (Opaz), presided over the inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed government berth at the Port of Duqm. The event, attended by government and private sector dignitaries, marks a significant milestone in bolstering the port's capabilities and infrastructure.
Eng. Ahmed bin Ali bin Issa Akaak, Acting CEO of Sezad, stated during the opening ceremony that the project to protect Sezad fell within the scope of protection from flood risks and drainage of surface water resulting from potential rainfall, thereby offering the maximum protection for large projects, facilities, and residents. The dam lakes were designed to accommodate the storage of about 50 million cubic meters of water and secure its access to the sea through drainage channels that were created earlier.
Akaak explained that Sezad celebrates also the completion of the infrastructure works at the government berth in Duqm Port, which is roughly one kilometre long and is divided into two areas — one designated as a berth for military authorities and the other for civil uses. Gates and roads are separating each area from the other.
Wadi Jurf and Wadi Saay protection dams project
Wadi Jurf Dam is roughly 19.4 metres tall and 1600 metres long. Its base is about 100 metres wide, and its thickness gets thinner as it gets higher, ending in an 8-meter-wide dam body at the top. The dam lake has an estimated storage capacity of 32.8 million cubic metres of water.
Wadi Saay Dam has a height of approximately 16.4 metres, a length of 3665 metres, and a base width of 100 metres. The intended capacity of the dam lake was 17 million cubic metres of water.
3 water drainage channels
The flood protection system in Duqm includes 3 channels to discharge surface water safely from dams to the sea: Wadi Dangertchannel, Wadi Jurf dam channel, and Wadi Saay dam channel.
The drainage channels have been thoughtfully chosen and planned to align with the wadis' surface runoff as well as the volume of flow from the dams and sub-wadis that empty into the main wadis beneath the dams and the three channels. The Wadi Dangart canal is 11km long and varies in width from 40 meters at its highest point to 100 meters at its seaward outlet. The Wadi Saay channel is approximately 9km long and 320 meters wide at its confluence with the Jurf channel.
Flowing from the west, the Jurf Channel collects the waters of Wadi Ashnan, Wadi Jurf, and a few tiny valleys and reefs west of Sezad before emptying into the sea. The channel stretches approximately 12 kilometres in length and 450 meters in width at its widest point, which is at the mouth on the shore of the Duqm Sea, to 750 metres.
Infrastructure works at the government berth at Duqm port
The government berth project at the Port of Duqm includes a berth for government agencies divided into 5 zones distributed for government uses and facilities, including the Royal Yachts, the Royal Navy of Oman, the Coast Guard of the Royal Oman Police, the Sultan’s Special Force, and the fifth zone designated for civil, commercial, and tourist uses. The project also includes a security gate for the administration, housing, and maintenance workshops, boats, related equipment and firefighting systems in addition 2 helipad for helicopters.
