01/10/2014 01:03 AST
Proposals for investment in Oman’s flagship logistics hub currently under establishment in South Al Batinah Governorate were evaluated by a high-level committee at its most recent meeting held here this week.
The project, dubbed the South Al Batinah Logistics Area, has attracted significant investment interest since it was first unveiled last year by the Supreme Council for Planning. Covering an area of around 90 million square metres, the area will feature dedicated zones earmarked for multimodal connectivity, light industries, value adding activities, commercial services, warehousing and logistics, urban and residential developments, hotels and leisure areas.
At its third meeting held this past week, the Steering Committee, chaired by Talal bin Sulaiman al Rahbi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning, reviewed progress achieved thus far in the implementation of this landmark development. Members deliberated on a number of proposals received from investors seeking leases for a variety of projects and activities. They also discussed a strategy for progressing the project through to the next phase of its development.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Director General of Customs — Royal Oman Police; Director-General of Investment, Ministry of Finance; the Chairman of the Board of Directors — Chamber of Commerce and industry (OCCI) South Al Batinah Branch; Assistant Chief Operating Officer of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), and Project Manager of the South Al Batinah Logistics Area.
In a presentation, Ahmed bin Said al Azkawi, Project Manager, traced the progress achieved in the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations with regard to the provision of utilities and services at the area, as well as the preparation of the site earmarked for the establishment of Oman’s first ‘dry port’. The proposed inland port will serve as a mid-point for shipping containers and other freight plying between Muscat and Sohar Port.
The Committee also reviewed plans for tendering out a number of contracts, notably, for the development of a brand identity for the South Al Batinah Logistics Area, website design and development, engineering consultancy services for flood protection systems across wadis intersecting the project area, engineering services for the design of the dry port, and other technical designs covering other aspects of the massive undertaking.
With a view to formulating investment procedures, as well as a package of incentives and tax benefits, the Committee reviewed data pertaining to the diverse investment opportunities offered by the logistics hub and also identified a mechanism for dealing with this key topic.
Additionally, the Committee discussed feedback received from logistics services providers post the closure of Muscat’s Port Sultan Qaboos to commercial shipping and the relocation of cargo operations to Sohar Port. Their expectations from the South Al Batinah Logistics Area, as well as other stakeholder authorities, in meeting the requirements of the trade were reviewed as well.
Initially spearheaded by the Supreme Council for Planning, and currently under the management of the PEIE, the multimodal South Al Batinah Logistics Area project is part of a longer-term national initiative to position the Sultanate as a logistics gateway to the wider Gulf and Middle East region. Additionally, it will help drive the growth of a logistics-based economic sector in the Sultanate, fuelling in turn employment generation, SME development, and inward investment as well.
Linked by rail and road with major industrial and commercial centres across North Oman, the logistics hub also has the potential to stimulate economic growth with beneficial implications for the entire country.
Oman Daily Observer
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