Wednesday 20 / November / 2024
Muscat: A licence to operate the Sultanate’s first dry port, which is the centre piece of South Al Batinah Logistics Area, will be awarded either in April or May, said a top-level official of Oman Logistics Company.
The company has invited bids from prequalified companies to manage the dry port, which is part of a world-class logistics city also known as Khazaen in the heart of the Sultanate. The successful bidder will secure a licence for long-term lease and operation of an inland port facility that will form part of the landmark South Al Batinah Logistics Area development.
Infrastructure tender
Making a presentation at the recently concluded Oman Economic Forum, Eng. Ahmed bin Said Azkawi, acting chief executive officer of the state-owned Oman Logistics Company, said that the company will float a tender for developing the infrastructure as well, which will include roads, for the first phase of the project spread over an area of three square kilometers. “The tenders will be floated either this month or early next month,” added Azkawi.
The first phase is currently under implementation and several investment opportunities are available for private sector on various fronts. “Several tenders for developing the whole project will be floated in the next few weeks,” added Azkawi.
The South Al Batinah Logistics Area will have a dry port, warehouses of varying sizes, head office, a logistics institute, a corporate office, hotels and mix-use real estate projects.
Elaborating on the investment opportunities, he said that the government has adopted four different types of development models for building South Al Batinah Logistics Area. “We have tenants who are interested in building specific areas, logistics service, utilities or hotels. We also have businesses in public-private partnership in the areas of real estate or logistics,” added Azkawi.
BOOT model
Oman Logistics Company has invited proposals from companies to express their interest in developing projects in public-private partnership and the proposed projects for development include superstructure and hotels. “This opportunity is available for few more weeks. The response so far has been very positive.” This could be build-own-operate and transfer (BOOT) model.
Azkawi also noted that plans are also afoot to invite private investors to participate in design and build projects, which include hotels. “We are very flexible on certain extend.”
There are also plans to introduce a one-stop-shop for easy registration, which will help foreign firms in starting business at the logistics centre. The Royal Oman Police will provide state-of-the security and surveillance services.
Planned in phases to develop an area spanning 95 square kilometres, Khazaen will be an inspiration for those working in the fields of logistics, urban planning, infrastructure and real estate.
“We are looking at each phase taking about four to five years and the project execution will depend on the needs of investors and the requirement of facilities.” It will be a fully integrated city, which will contain all required facilities for investors to carry out business.
According to the official, the hub will support related infrastructure projects to turn the Sultanate into a logistics gateway to the wider Gulf and Middle East region.
The logistics centre is proposed to come up at the intersection of the Barka-Nakhl Road and the Muscat-Batinah Expressway route. The South Batinah Logistics Area is not far from Muscat International Airport and two hours by road from Sohar port. It also has advantages due to its proximity to both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
