This year marks a very special anniversary for Hutchison Ports Sohar as we reach a decade and a half of operations in Oman. Hutchison Ports Sohar has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2006, when we only handled a few thousand boxes. This year we celebrated the remarkable milestone of our 6 millionth TEU.
We take great pride in supporting the ambitious program Oman Vision 2040 which was established to elevate Oman’s logistics industry and diversify the country’s economy. It is exciting to see the vision of the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos take shape, and we are grateful to have the leadership and direction of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik as Sohar increasingly becomes a maritime hub for the Middle East.
As Oman adopted development policies to spur trade and economic development, Hutchison Ports Sohar continues to invest in the latest equipment and IT solutions. The aim is to progressively increase the terminal’s capacity ahead of the burgeoning demand while also expanding the range of value-added services at the port.
Reflecting on the anniversary, Andy Tsoi, Managing Director of Hutchison Ports MEA Division commented: “As a large, greenfield development, there were many unknowns and many hurdles to overcome. We were very pleased to have support of the Hutchison Ports group, solid commitments from our valuable carrier partners and most importantly our strong workforce. Looking ahead, we are striving to continue to engage our young workforce to ensure that we build a strong pipeline of future talent for the port and the overall industry in Oman.”
In addition to adopting international best practices and cultivating a strong culture of innovation and ongoing improvement, the terminal has been outfitted with the latest container handling equipment and is ready to serve the industry’s increasingly large mega vessels. The state-of-the-art equipment has enhanced the safety and working conditions of our team, contributed to our sustainability goals and boosted the terminal’s capacity to 2.4 million TEU.
Looking ahead, we are also laying the figurative groundwork to launch autonomous truck technology in 2022. Another key technology we see great promise in is 5G telecommunications for an efficient and optimized port community system. Hutchison Ports Sohar has been working closely with Omantel and Huawei to study and formulate commercially viable 5G solutions at the terminal.
Moving ahead, efforts to attract additional direct calls continue in earnest. Hutchison Ports Sohar currently boasts a customer profile covering over 100 clients including all global shipping lines, regional feeders, NVOCCs and shipping agents. This patronage means a great deal to us.
Commenting on the occasion, Anacin Kum, CEO of Hutchison Ports Sohar said, “I am glad to be a part of Hutchison Ports Sohar’s growth for the past few years. This place and its people have tremendous potential which is being proven by new challenges each passing day. Now is the right moment for us all to renew the pledge to further strengthen our position in Oman and the Middle East. The coming years will require further innovation, dedication, efficient customer service, but above all, mutually beneficial business relationships with shipping lines and end-users alike. We have empowered our employees which allows customers and shareholders to place their faith and trust in us – and we are committed to continue strengthening this bond.”
The future is green
We understand the importance of sustainable and the need to be fully engaged with the local community. With this in mind, we have actively identified a range of Environmental, Social & Governance initiatives. Earlier we carefully reviewed our energy use and managed to reduce energy consumption by 28% by replacing traditional lights with power-efficient LED and these efforts will continue.
While it is important to protect the environment for future generations, it is also important to give them the knowledge and skillsets needed to succeed. Through a range of programs with local Omani schools, we open the doors of the port to the youth to show them the far-reaching benefits of international trade from Oman and the potential career paths available in the broader industry. With regular intake of interns, some of whom successfully turn into full time employees, our Omanisation rate is at all-time high of 84 per cent.
Finally, as we look into the future, we would like to thank all those who have supported the growth of Hutchison Ports Sohar over the past 15 years. The future of the port offers great potential, so we look forward to continuing our existing partnerships and establishing new ones in the years to come.
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