Oman’s Sohar port, which has emerged as a gateway for Indian shippers seeking to reach Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia, is currently in talks with several Indian logistics operators and berth contenders eyeing the terminals, a top executive said.
The port is currently studying an expansion plan given the recent surge in cargo, and has enough land and waterfront to do so, said Reid Al Rubaie, deputy general manager (CEO) of Sohar Port and CEO of Sohar Free Zone.
“We are in discussions with a number of Indian terminal operators who are interested in operating their facilities in Sohar. We also have dedicated terminals here, such as the Jindal facility where they have two terminals as their own operator. So, both options – berths and multi-purpose terminals for logistics operators – are now being explored with Indian players,” Al Rubaie told Business Standard.
The GCC is a regional alliance in Western Asia that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After the West Asian crisis erupted in February, shipping lines began calling at ports east of the Strait of Hormuz, such as Salalah, Khorfakkan, Sohar and Jeddah, causing these ports to handle far more cargo than their normal capacity.
Al Rubaie said that since the crisis in West Asia began, the number of feeder vessels between India and Sohar has increased fourfold to handle cargo of Indian origin from the Gulf countries. “Previously, most of this cargo was sent on large ships directly to the Gulf countries, rather than on feeder ships to Oman and then along the road,” he said.
Logistics players, who have spent much of the past six months on edge, have set up alternative supply chains to serve the Gulf region while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to hostilities between the US and Iran, with ship passages occurring only under a vague and strict clearance regime.
UAE-based DP World earlier said it had launched a new weekly service connecting Mundra and Nhava Sheva to Khorfakkan and downstream global markets, and it is now providing a fortnightly service that directly connects Cochin to Fujairah, Sohar and Aden. The port also plans to become a transshipment point for the Gulf and African countries.
With a total investment of over US$30 billion in the port and free zone, and handling over 72 million tons of cargo annually, Sohar is positioning itself as a provider of an established industrial and logistics platform connecting businesses to regional and global markets.
Compared to last year, container transshipment at the port increased by 40 percent, and the volume of bulk cargo almost doubled in the first half of the year, the deputy general director said. According to available data, the port recorded a 52 percent increase in cargo traffic to 52 million tons in the first half of the year.
The port and free zone already has a significant presence in India in the form of the Naveen Jindal group, which operates a 2 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant.
There is a green corridor for the smooth passage of goods to the Gulf countries. According to Omani leaders, the road network has already been created and the Oman-UAE rail corridor will also be established by 2028.
