BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, APRIL 27
A jetty being constructed at Khatmat Milaha in the Wilayat of Shinas to support the export of gabbro to Qatar is slated for trial operations in the fourth quarter of this year.
The project, valued at around RO 50 million, is the product of a cooperative agreement between the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of the Sultanate of Oman and Qatar Primary Metals Company (QPMC), a Qatari state-owned procurer of gabbro and aggregate – primary materials for the construction and infrastructure sector.
Work on the project is around 80 per cent complete, the Ministry said in a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA).
At the heart of the project is a 1,800-metre-long jetty offering drafts of 8-12 metres that allow for the loading of gabbro directly on to ships or barges plying between Shinas and Qatar. The export capacity of the facility when fully operational is estimated at 7 million tonnes of gabbro annually.
Significantly, the Khatmat Milaha jetty project is the first port facility of its kind to be established outside the framework of commercial ports in the Sultanate of Oman, but will nevertheless play a important role in supporting maritime transport and logistics activities in the country.
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