Reggy Vermeulen
CEO, Port of Duqm
Oil and gas is not the only sector we are serving. We are also serving, for example, mineral exports. Sometimes it is forgotten that the port is not yet finished; there is still another two and a half years of construction to go. However, it is functional. Therefore, today we can cater to any type of cargo through what are called multipurpose terminals instead of dedicated terminals. Nevertheless, our efficiency is not at its full potential. When in the next two to three years we are fully finished with dedicated terminals, this will definitely increase our efficiency. From that moment onward, we will be able to position ourselves in the global market. This port is massive and will take many years to build. However, in the next two years we will deliver a fully up and running mineral terminal, a container terminal with a capacity of 2.5 million containers a year, a RORO terminal, a liquid terminal, and a break bulk terminal. With these five we can cover the entire industry.
Mehdi Al Abduwani
CEO, National Ferries Company
By focusing on two factors, namely service reliability, through punctual schedules of trips, and service quality, through better services, seating, space, and facilities for passengers, we saw increases in both passenger and vehicle transport. In terms of passengers, our growth was 9%, and for vehicle transport it was 14%. This mainly came from one of our busiest line operations, the Shannah-Masirah route. We operate two ferries on this line and transported around 168,000 passengers in 2016. Our overall movement is dependent on the season, especially for the Muscat-Khasab route. Khasab, up north in the Musandam Peninsula, is directly linked with Muscat. Dibba and Lima are serviced by scheduled service linking Shinas and Khasab. Efforts began in 2008 to connect far-flung areas with the mainland. These areas are beyond the borders and to reach them travelers have to pass two to three border points by road. This is where our ferry provides a unique service.
Stephan Aumann
CEO, Stephan Aumann
The shipyard is relatively new compared to its competitors in the Gulf. In the first years, the major strategy was to set up a shipyard and incumbent services in order to accommodate, repair, and maintain ships. We have now reached a point where we want to move on to the next step, which is also the plan of the Asyad Group. With the appointment of a new CEO, it has become the main hub for ship repair and the conversion of commercial and navy vessels, as well as the offshore industry and industrial steel construction, not only in Oman but the entire Middle East. We are now playing in a lower league and it is great; we do ship repairs, basic work, and ship conversions, and our docks are occupied. In order to maintain a certain top line and generate financial volume, we need to move into other business areas that will allow us to play a major role in the champions league of globally recognized ship repair yards.
Mark Geilenkirchen
CEO, Sohar Port
There are a number of exciting new developments in the port this year. Sohar Port South is our new land reclamation area and will create sufficient space to attract more businesses to guarantee us additional solid growth in the years ahead. Orpic’s new USD6 billion plastics project in the port is on track to open by 2019. It will create 1.4 million tons of PE, PET, and PP annually for a wide variety of uses, including food-grade packaging. This will put Oman on the world map as a major plastics producer and will attract many downstream industries to both the port and free zone. There is a lot of interest in our new food zone, as today over three-quarters of the GCC’s food is imported. It’s a market that will continue to grow in the coming years, boosted by one of the world’s youngest and fastest-growing populations, not to mention phenomenal growth in regional tourism, which is expected to top 83 million annual visitors by 2026.
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