SIGNATURE SIGHT: Installed in 1993, the 56-metre tall gantry cranes were among the first sights to greet ships calling at Port Sultan Qaboos
BUSINESS REPORTER -
MUSCAT, Jan 21
Five long rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGCs), an iconic feature of Muscat’s Port Sultan Qaboos, have been dismantled as part of the port’s transformation into a tourism and heritage waterfront.
Significantly, the massive structures are destined for an Omani steel mill where they will be recycled — a project undertaken Omani companies and SMEs in a predominantly In-Country Value (ICV) initiative.
Installed in 1993, the gantry cranes were among the first sights to greet ships calling at Muscat as they began their approach into Port Sultan Qaboos, long the country’s main commercial gateway until that distinction passed on to Port of Sohar in 2013.
Following a decision taken by the Omani government to convert the port into a world-class waterfront development, coupled with components for cruise ships and yachts, as well as tourism, commercial and residential elements, preparations began to remove the giant cranes from their moorings on the container berths.
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), which owns the cranes, among other pieces of hardware at the port, floated a tender for the dismantling and disposal of the structures.
The contract was won by local Omani firm Jabal Salalah National Trading LLC, which enlisted the services of Overseas Agencies and Services LLC, a specialist in the handling of large structures, in the disassembly and disposal of the cranes.
The latter is an Omani small and medium enterprise (SME).
Given the complexity of the task, the contractors took around four months to take down the 56-metre tall structures, weighing 750 tonnes apiece.
The exercise is expected to be completed before the end of this month, according to officials representing the contractors.
The five cranes, weighing around 3750 tonnes in all, are now earmarked for scrapping and recycling at the modern steel mill of Moon Iron and Steel LLC, which commenced operations at Suhar Industrial Estate last year.
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