Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Dutch firm to develop waste water treatment plant at Sohar Port

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Sohar Port and Freezone yesterday welcomed Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Minister for Foreign Trade and Development for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Laetitia van Asch, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Oman, together with a high level delegation. The VIP delegation were greeted with an official reception.


Mark Geilenkirchen commented, “It was a great pleasure to welcome Sigrid Kaag, Laetitia van Asch and their delegation. Sixteen years ago, the Sultanate entered into a joint venture agreement for Sohar Port with the Port of Rotterdam.


Being one the world’s largest ports and the largest one in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam brought state-of-the-art technologies and best practices to Sohar, allowing the port to employ a best practice methodology across all aspects of port operations.


Today’s visit gave us the opportunity to discuss mutual areas of common interest in the areas of water management, logistics and clean energy, and explore the latest innovative technologies that can be used to ensure environmental sustainability and energy efficiency at Suhar.”


Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was impressed by the Sohar Port. “It’s one of the fastest-growing ports in the world. Bigger than Maasvlakte 2, the newest and most extensive area of Rotterdam’s port, Sohar Port is an extraordinary joint venture of the Port of Rotterdam and the Sultanate of Oman. As a major industrial hub, it plays a key role in strengthening our countries’ bilateral economic relations. The port and freezone together account for more than 10 per cent of Oman’s GNP, and make a valuable contribution to the further development and diversification of its economy.”


Laetitia van Asch, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Oman said, “The enduring relationship between Oman and the Netherlands is symbolised by the shared experience and cooperation in the maritime and logistics domain between Port of Rotterdam and Suhar. Since the start of operations, Suhar has since grown to become a cornerstone of the Sultanate’s economy, and one of the most fruitful business relationships in the Middle East with the Netherlands. Today, Sohar Port and Freezone is a successful demonstration of the strong and enduring bilateral ties between Oman and the Netherlands.”


During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Sohar Port and Freezone and Netherlands based Strukton International for the development of a revolutionary waste water treatment plant to be developed at the port.


The proposed treatment plant uses the new Verdygo modular technology for efficient and environmentally responsible wastewater treatment. The new technology allows the treatment plant to rapidly scale operational capacity and deliver sustainable options for wastewater reuse for industry or greenhouses, making a considerable reduction on traditional water and energy demands at the port and free zone.


Commenting on the MoU, Mark Geilenkirchen said, “We have named 2018 as the year of ‘Smarter Thinking’ at Sohar, and our MoU with Strukton International for an innovative wastewater treatment plant underlines our commitment to maximising our use of existing resources.


There are many examples of smarter thinking in play at Suhar. We’re in the process of installing PV solar cells around our head office, which will significantly reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the power grid, and we’re also conducting a feasibility study to convert our port vehicles to run on hydrogen, which is an underutilised by-product of industry at Sohar.”


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