The new Omani port of Duqm, which lies approximately 350 miles northeast of Salalah, is expected to handle its first containers in the opening quarter of 2016. Ultimately, a 3.5M TEU dedicated terminal will be built as part of the first phase of Duqm’s development programme.
Cargo volumes being handled at the port are building strongly, as various oil and gas projects come to fruition in the Al Wusta area, and the port’s neighbouring special economic zone takes shape.
In particular, imports are rising quickly, with the movement of project cargoes, construction materials, capital goods and even consumer products strong. This will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Consequently, in early 2016, Oman Shipping Co will include Duqm as a direct port of call in its intra-regional and coastal container service, which currently calls at Salalah, Sohar northern Oman) and Jebel Ali in the UAE. The service carries cabotage and international feeder traffic, the latter of which will comprise the majority of volumes processed at the port.
Ultimately, Duqm will target mainline carriers and hopes to emulate both Salalah and Sohar in also handling “greater regional” transhipment cargo.
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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the November 2015 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 13. To access this issue download the PDF here.
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