New joint venture to develop and operate Khazaen Dry Port

MUSCAT, NOV 17 - Oman’s Minister of Transport, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, witnessed on Sunday the signing of an agreement by Khazaen Economic City (KEC) with a number of leading logistics companies to operate and manage the dry port in the economic zone in South Al Batinah Governorate. Under the terms of the agreement, the partnership of Marafi (a subsidiary of Asyad Group), Khimji Ramdas Shipping and Al Madina Logistics Services (SAOC), will secure the lease of a total of 250,000 sq metres of land within the Economic Zone. In the first stage, the partnership will finance, develop and operate the Dry Port on 100,000 sq metres of land with an initial investment of $10 million.

The agreement was signed by Khalid Awadh al Balushi, CEO of Khazaen Economic City (KEC) with Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Abri, CEO of Marafi, on behalf of the three companies: Marafi, Khimji Ramdas and Al Madina Logistics Services (SAOC). Dr Al Futaisi said: “The signing of the agreement aims to establish the first land port in the Sultanate and the Khazaen Economic City, under management and operation of private sector companies, has been an important step towards linking the various seaports to the commercial, industrial and economic areas in the Sultanate as a direct result of the continuous growth of shipping and maritime traffic in the ports of the Sultanate.’’

“We are looking forward to the new dry port contributing to speeding up the movement of containers and cargo, reducing the total cost of outbound and inbound goods, provide container maintenance services in addition to services related to government clearance,” he added.

Khalid Awadh al Balushi, CEO of Khazaen Economic City (KEC), said that the land port project is one of the main pillars and components in the city which will enhance the integration of services available to investors and business owners and will facilitate the process of customs clearance and container traffic coming from various logistics ports.

The project will also contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the city and enhance the process of attracting local and international business owners to establish their projects, especially projects that rely heavily on import and export. Al Balushi added: “The dry port project is a model of a real partnership with the private sector, represented by Khimji Ramdas and Al Madina Logistics Services (SAOC), to improve the logistics sector in Oman.”