SALALAH, AUG 9
Major improvements in connectivity have spurred an uptrend in gateway container volumes handled at Port of Salalah in recent years, according to a top official of the port.
Keld M Christensen (pictured), CEO, said in an interview to the Observer that significant improvements across a number of indicators have continued to drive the logistics hub’s strong performance in recent years.
Citing a key study by QBIS Consultancy, Christensen pointed out that the Port of Salalah increased its connectivity, measured in Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), from index value 22 to 55 over the 2006 – 2020 timeframe, which corresponds to an improvement of 151 per cent. Furthermore, the improved connectivity contributed to increased containerized exports and imports of around 51.3 per cent (3.9 per cent per year) over the same timeframe.
“When assessing the socioeconomic contribution of the Port of Salalah and its contribution to the manufacturing strategies of the Omani government, it is the throughput of full export and import containers that is essential. From 2015 to 2022, export container throughput grew 70 per cent, while import container throughput grew 88 per cent, which means that the Port of Salalah has had stronger growth in export and import containers than the overall container throughput in Oman during this period,” the CEO added.
Significantly, the 70 per cent growth in export container throughput from 2015 to 2020 in the Port of Salalah corresponds to an annual growth of 11.6 per cent, Keld pointed out. “To achieve Target B of the Omani strategy “Manufacturing for Wellbeing” of a manufactured export of RO 13.4 billion (USD 35 billion) in 2040, the required annual growth rate in manufactured export is around 9 per cent,” he explained.
Keld further added that the General Cargo Terminal (GCT) of Salalah handled around 18Mt of cargo in 2022, up from around 1.2Mt in 2000. This corresponds to a year-to-year growth of around 15% in the period 2000-2022
Notably, this stellar growth is not limited to container and general cargo throughput alone, says Keld. On the contrary, the Port of Salalah has undergone significant expansion and modernization in recent years in line with the developments in the port industry globally. The upcoming enhancements encompass amongst others, gate and equipment automation, equipment upgrade, digitization, sustainability, training and development and customer satisfaction, he stated.
Further, with the goal of supporting the Omani government’s ambitions to diversify the national economy, the Port of Salalah – as one of the largest ports in the region – is set to play a major role in contributing to this goal.
“Our strategy is to become a supply chain hub for the African, Indian Sub-Continent and Red Sea regions,” said the CEO.
Another key initiative currently under implementation is dubbed the ‘Salalah Value Proposition’, which encompasses all the supply chain ecosystem stakeholders in Salalah, including Salalah Free Zone and Salalah Airport.
“We started our project in Q4 2021 and benchmarked us with the best in class and identified areas of improvements that is required to attract more investments into Oman. While this is work in progress, we are also jointly working closely with the ecosystem partners on the business growth pipeline and are making positive progress. We are encouraged by progress and some of our success stories from these initiatives will be announced soon.”
A rising star in the port industry globally, Port of Salalah owes its success to a team of forward-thinking individuals who embody a problem-solving and continuous improvement mindset. Partnering with APM Terminals, a leading global port operator, has proven instrumental, allowing for best practice sharing and benefiting from the expertise of renowned global professionals utilizing a standardized Way of Working approach. With an eye on the future, Salalah Port remains committed to sustaining and advancing its success, investing in comprehensive training programs and hands-on experience for its workforce, he stressed.
“We are recognized as the second most efficient port in the world by a study by the World Bank and IHS Markit for the years 2021 and 2022, accordingly one of the most efficient ports in the world situated in a very strategic location. Our position will help improve the supply chain competitiveness of your product and services, including cost reduction opportunities by a significant margin and ensure speed to market to and from the world’s fast growing consumer market in the world,” the CEO added in conclusion.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
