Oman and France to build $400m maritime logistics terminal

Oman’s state-run logistics company Asyad has signed a partnership agreement with a French company to build a $400 million logistics terminal at Sohar port.

“The agreement was a result of Sultan Haitham’s efforts during his visit to France this week to expand our industrial zones,” Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, CEO of Asyad Group, told AGBI.

Asyad and France’s CMA will build a multipurpose logistics terminal, including storage facilities, in the industrial city near the UAE border.

Al Hatmi said the terminal, once completed, would open a new supply-chain corridor to the Gulf states by road and via maritime transport networks.

“It will increase cargo volumes for both regional and international trade. It will also expand the free zone in Sohar and boost logistics investments,” Al Hatmi said.

Sohar is home to Oman’s biggest port and free zones. It also has regional food depots that were established to secure supply chains to Oman’s Gulf neighbours.

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The number of ships calling at Sohar port has increased by about 40 percent since the war broke out at the end of February.

Cargo-handling capacity has risen by 55 percent, according to Oman’s ministry of transport, communication and information technology.

Asyad Group is owned by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, the Oman Investment Authority, and was established as part of Oman’s plan to become one of the world’s leading integrated logistics service providers by 2040.

It consists of 16 logistics companies and joint ventures, and owns assets including three deep ports, one dry port, two free zones, an economic zone and Oman Rail.