In addition, on a national level, we are looking to identify the logistics requirements of Oman that are not currently being met by two other major ports: Sohar and Salalah. We can cater to these new requirements as we are the latest entrant and are still being constructed so that a lot of things can still be bent and a lot of new things can be built. We have identified some niche market logistics requirements which are not present in Oman.
The whole idea is to generate businesses that are not available in Salalah nor in Sohar but are there in our neighbouring countries.
HAS THE OIL PRICE FALL HAD ANY IMPACT ON THE INVESTMENTS AND ACTIVITIES IN PORT OF DUQM? WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES FACING THE PORT?
Although we had suffered a delay in the past, things are running pretty smooth now. If you have been to Duqm recently, you can see that there is a frenzy of activities which are making up for any delay in the past. SEZAD is putting in tremendous efforts to sustain the projects, despite the economic slowdown.
There was a fear, but that fear has already been overcome and there has never been a massive impact. In addition, there is a national will and agenda for economic diversification and Duqm lies at the heart of it; therefore slowdown on a project like Duqm is not a good message.
The big challenge confronting us a few months ago was to continue the growth momentum despite the economic conditions. But SEZAD has proved to the country and investors as well that we have achieved that. Things are moving much faster than they did a couple of years ago. That is quite significant. But still there are challenges, because it is a new project and we are creating it from scratch.
We are now attracting the so-called early birds rather than established companies who will join once the free zone is set in motion. Attracting your first client is the real challenge. The advent of refinery is really significant, in reinsuring the market and convincing everybody that Duqm is happening. Despite the economic slowdown, we have witnessed a growth both in revenue and volume and in the number of ships we received. Our market and our volumes are growing, because for some types of industries using port of Duqm is actually cheaper. It is a win-win situation: they are saving money and we are increasing our trade volume and efficiencies.
WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE OUTLOOK?
We are quite optimistic and really going on the right direction. We are working with our clients to convince them that using the Port of Duqm is actually valuable for them as it helps them save money. The current economic situation is all about saving money. When they use the Port of Duqm, they have fewer kilometres to travel.
The low oil price is forcing the companies to be more efficient; and in order to be more efficient, they need to ease their logistics hurdles. Here, Port of Duqm comes in handy because of its strategic location in the middle of Oman. We are working with PDO to implement their new logistics strategy, aimed at concentrating their warehouses and distribution network. That makes them save a lot of money and millions of driven kilometres.
HOW IS PORT OF DUQM GOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEW MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENTS IN DUQM SUCH AS THE CHINESE INDUSTRIAL PARK?
