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 Port
of Sohar is a rapidly expanding industrial port in the
Sultanate of Oman, situated 240 km northwest of Oman’s
capital Muscat. The port area of approximately 20 km2
currently features fully operational businesses along
large scale construction activities. Investments in
industries, infrastructure and utilities amount to $ 12
billion (2002-2008), a figure that will rise as more and
more investors discover Sohar. In two years’ time the
Port of Sohar will house three fully developed clusters:
a petrochemical cluster, a metal cluster and a logistics
cluster. The management of the industrial port is
undertaken by Sohar Industrial Port Company, a 50/50
joint venture between Oman’s government and the Port of
Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
Sohar is being transformed into a thriving maritime and
industrial hub. The project is one of the largest of its
kind in the world. It forms a new chapter for a city
with a rich maritime history. With all the industries
running, the Port of Sohar will employ approximately
8,000 people directly and around 30,000 people
indirectly.
Maritime Dimension
The Port
of Sohar is developing into a world class port, capable
of receiving ships up to 16.5 m draught (18 m in 2008),
handling all types of cargo, well connected to its
hinterland by highly efficient logistics. The
stevedoring company Steinweg started a general cargo and
dry bulk terminal in April 2004. The liquid bulk
terminal is operated by Oiltanking Odfjell; it received
its first tanker in June 2006. Containers are handled by
Oman International Container Terminal (OICT). The
container terminal has Hutchison Port Holdings as its
principal shareholder. OICT has begun operations on the
1st of December 2006. Maritime services like
towage are done by Svitzer Sohar. Striving to be a
‘paperless port’, the Port of Sohar allows visiting
ships to use a web-based vessel notification system. In
2006 the port received 335 vessels: general cargo ships,
dry bulk carriers and liquid tankers. This figure is
expected to rise steeply to some 600 in 2007 and well
over 1000 in 2008.
Industrial Dimension
The petrochemical cluster will consist of a refinery
(operational) and production plants for aromatics,
formaldehyde, methanol, polyethylene, polypropylene
(almost operational), urea etc. The metal cluster will
include a steel complex and aluminum production (the
actual smelter situated outside the SIPC concession
area). In clusters, industries are close to each other
and receive feedstock from each other; they often share
the same infrastructure, utilities and (common) service
providers, giving them the benefit of economies of
scale.
History
Sohar can look back on a history as a vibrant maritime
and commercial centre. Already in the third millennium
BC, its port was famous for its copper and diorite
export. Later in history, at the end of the 8th century,
merchant sailors from Sohar served as models for Sindbad
the Sailor. After being totally destroyed by the Buyids,
from present day Iran, in the 10th century AD, it took
the city many generations to recover. In the 19th
century Sohar experienced its second Golden Age. The
rule of Sayyid Said bin Sultan (1804-1856), ancestor of
His Majesty Qaboos bin Said, brought the Port of Sohar
to unprecedented prosperity. But this glory also faded
away. It seems that Sohar is now well under way for its
Third Golden Age.
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