Sohar Port plans new Bulk Terminal operation

By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: Jan 22 - Sohar Port & Freezone is preparing to bring into operation a new Bulk Terminal to facilitate the export of locally mined construction aggregate (primarily crushed rock, gravel and sand) to booming markets in the wider Arabian Gulf region. The proposed Bulk Terminal, which is a part of the deep water bulk jetty currently operated by Brazilian-based mining giant Vale at Sohar, will help local mining and quarrying firms target big ticket infrastructure projects currently under way in parts of the GCC, according to a high-level executive of the port. Marc Evertse, Executive Commercial Manager, said the 270-metre-long terminal, which was built in conjunction with the construction of the Vale jetty, is being prepared to handle large volumes of construction material for export. Demand for primary construction aggregate has soared in countries such as Qatar and Bahrain, where billions of dollars are being invested in major civil infrastructure schemes.  The Sultanate, given its proximity to these markets and as a source of high-quality materials, is billed as a promising export market. “We are now in the process of making this terminal ready for handling large quantities of dry bulk, in particular aggregates,” said Evertse.  “There is strong pressure from the domestic market to facilitate exports of aggregates,” he told delegations on the second day of the Oman Minerals & Mining Exhibition & Conference, which was held in Muscat last week.  The 3-day event was jointly organised by Oman Expo and Awtad GeoQuest with the support of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM). Evertse however stressed that any investment by the selected operator in terminal superstructure, such as bulk material loaders, unloaders, conveyance systems and so on, would depend on assurances of throughput volumes achieving a certain critical mass. “There is interest from several prospective operators to operate the terminal, but they will need to invest in equipment and will do so only when the quantities of cargo are large enough. The difficulty in Oman is that, while there are many mines in the hinterland of Sohar, the quantities they can each deliver are insufficient to make these investments by the operator feasible.  Nevertheless, we are now optimistic for the coming years, and we will have the  Bulk Terminal starting up,” the Executive Commercial Manager added. Significantly, Vale Oman, which operates a world-scale iron ore pelletising plant and mammoth stockyard at Sohar port, has been recently granted the green-light to export limited volumes of aggregates as well, said Evertse. “As Vale has a lot of spare capacity, we gave them the No-Objection for a certain period of time to make use of their facilities to export small quantities of aggregates as well,” he said. Since it commenced operations in 2011, the Brazilian-Omani joint venture has been importing millions of tonnes of iron ore for conversion into pellets that are then exported to steel mills across the Middle East.  Both imports and exports are handled via Sohar Port’s deep water jetty.  The inclusion of construction aggregate in its export portfolio is a significant addition to its operations at Sohar.