Friday 26 / April / 2024
Duqm: Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (Sezad), announced that Sezad has decided to increase the depth of the fishing harbour to 10 metres instead of 6 metres.
This has been decided in order to prepare the port to attract large fishing vessels operating on the high seas, in addition to increasing the economic value of the port, which will become the first port in the Sultanate to reach that depth.
In an exclusive interview with Oman News Agency (ONA), Sezad Chairman said that the decision comes in line with the development of commercial fishing in the world, adding that the depth of the harbour is in line with the requirements of this sector as there are ships equipped for fishing purposes or for the purposes of exporting fish, which need a basin deeper than 6 metres, thus comes the idea of increasing the basin depth to 10 metres.
He stressed that Sezad is working to make the fishing harbour in Duqm one of the regional ports capable of providing the various services needed by the large fishing vessels and thus contributing to enhancing the performance of the fish industries near the harbor, which aims to make Duqm a key centre for fish industries in the Sultanate.
The fishing harbour of Duqm is currently witnessing an acceleration in its construction operations and the number of employees at the site is about 500 people. It is expected that the harbour will be ready by the end of next year or the beginning of 2021.
Al Jabri touched on the economic importance of the fishing harbour in Duqm.
He said that the fishing harbour of Duqm is one of the most important components of the special economic zone of Duqm and added that the fisheries sector in Duqm is one of the most promising sectors in the region, as the region has a large stock of fish wealth that contributes to the supply of other sectors in the region and the revitalisation of the economic movement.
He said, "Therefore, since the beginning of the planning of the economic zone, the government has endeavoured to establish a fishing harbour and a nearby fish industries area, that's concerned with the fishery industries so that the harbour and the region will activate all services related to fish wealth."
On a question related to the investment projects that will be established in the fisheries industry, Al Jabri said, " The region is witnessing a good interest from investors and there is an acceleration of investment in the region despite the lack of readiness of the fishing harbour."
He pointed out that the number of existing factories is 4 factories, 3 of them have already started production and the forth one will be operational during the current year.
He added that there are 4 other factories under construction, in addition to 12 companies that have signed usufruct (land lease) agreements with Sezad to establish specialised factories for sardine, feed, fish oil and fish packaging industries.
As for the integration in the operations of the fishing harbour and the port of Duqm, Al Jabri stressed that, "Sezad is working to enable the fishing harbour in Duqm to carry out commercial operations, but if the need to export larger quantities on board giant vessels, Duqm commercial port will be ready for such operations because it has a deeper draft in comparison to the fishing harbour, as the depth of the port basin is 18 metres and this will enhance the large commercial operations that need larger berths."
He explained that the special economic zone is equipped with other facilities serving the fishing harbour, such as Duqm Airport, which can — through the cargo building — contribute to the export of fish to the world with faster and it is close to the fishery industry.
