Ports in Oman have been one of the major contributors to the country’s economic development. And the subsequent efforts by the government to further push their contribution to the national economy have been showing consistent results. The fact that several new initiatives have taken shape and been implemented in the last few years shows how dedicated the government has been in realizing its dreams of diversifying and strengthening its economy. In the addition to their efforts, the Oman government recently opened the Duqm Port, yet another feather to their bustling port infrastructure. In addition to the existing major ports like Sohar, and Salalah, Duqm is all set to make its presence felt in taking the economic development of the country and the logistics and maritime industry forward. This sure is great news for all the shipping companies in Oman as it will further boost their business.
The development of the Duqm Port has been going on for a while now, and now that it has been opened for trade across several other major global markets, it is sure to bring a lot of positives. The authorities believe it will help in achieving the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, which includes the diversification of the sources of income and balanced development, inviting foreign investment and localizing overseas businesses, creating large-scale employment opportunities, and realizing the expected growth parameters. The developmental plans at Duqm further include the development of Duqm airport, rail and road infrastructure, multi-purpose fishing port, telecommunication development in addition to facilitating investors for easy access and implementation.
The government is looking at Duqm as one of the major contributors towards their logistics business to Asia and Europe. To enable it to help business growth, the port has been equipped with high specifications. This includes three berths – commercial, government, and liquid material berth. The length and breadth of the port have been taken care of keeping in mind the movement of some of the biggest and largest container ships and very large crude carriers. This will enable the port to handle high-volume movement from across the world.
Apart from all these specifications, the opening of the Duqm Port has yet another significance, and that is strengthening of their commercial relationships with Antwerp, a project that came to realization 12 years back. During the opening ceremony, the director of the Antwerp Port was also present, where she emphasized the significance this relationship will have on trade in both countries. The port of Duqm is sure to make things a lot better for these two countries. In a bid to make the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe after Rotterdam, one of the pillars of their economic development, the authorities stepped up their efforts to collaborate with other international ports, and Duqm was one of their first collaborators. With these two countries looking at each other for economic development, in addition to strengthening their logistics and maritime industry, it is clear that Duqm will play an important role in making these dreams come true.
Thanks to its strategic geographical position, the Duqm port is perfectly placed to become a link between global markets in Asia and Europe, giving a significant push to logistics companies in Oman as well as in Belgium. The strategic collaboration between Belgium and Oman will see a further cementing of economic and commercial relations through the opening of this port. With the port of Antwerp being the second largest port in Europe, this collaboration will open up a whole new market in Europe for Oman for logistics and maritime business. Oman has already been investing time, effort, and money in cementing its business relations with the neighboring countries, their strategic collaborations with business partners in Europe clearly show that the government is looking at expanding their reach and increasing their chances of economic development and diversification.
The Duqm Port witnessed the movement of 2242 vessels and is already moving towards profitability, which, believe the sources is a great sign. The port is being developed in such a way that it will support several other industries within Oman like the fisheries industry, refineries, clean energy, etc. Now with the Duqm port initiating an exclusive partnership with the port of Antwerp will bring a lot more to the country than expected. This partnership is being looked at as a major contributor in increasing the country’s shift towards alternative energy sources in such a way that will enhance their efforts towards a sustainable ecosystem. It will also amount to social welfare, renewal of resources, and relieving pressure on financial management. The plan will also enable Oman’s effort to attract foreign investment in oil and non-oil sectors, with an emphasis on non-oil sectors.
Belgium is currently one of the fastest export bases in Europe and is expected to become part of the global contributors very soon. This way, the two countries are sailing in the same boat and looking at similar future plans. This makes them even stronger business partners as sharing similar goals and objectives makes it easy for them to do business. The opening of the Duqm port is surely being seen as a major step towards establishing Oman as one of the largest contributors to the logistics and maritime industry in the GCC area. The port ecosystem in Oman has been making giant waves towards economic development, and they are sure to become the torch-bearers of development and diversification in Oman.
