A general cargo terminal has been unveiled at the Port of Salalah in Oman, adjacent to existing and planned petrochemical sites at the nearby Salalah Free Zone.
Local and international tenders were floated last week to build both the general cargo terminal and a liquid jetty, involving the construction of a 1,250-metre long linear quay with multi-purpose berths for dry bulk carriers, government and navy vessels.
The new liquid jetty will be operational by the end of 2012, increasing the capacity for petrochemical projects within the free zone area.
These developments correlate with a 68 percent surge in ship calls in 2009 compared to the previous year, as well as an increase of 7.0 percent in general cargo volumes. The development is part of a master plan that will eventually increase capacity to 40 million tonnes of dry bulk commodities and 5 million tonnes of liquid products annually.