Robust volumes: Between June 2020 and March 2021, the dry port handled 540,000 tonnes of cargo transported by over 35,000 trucks
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, APRIL 28
An inland port (also known as ‘Dry Port’) currently in operation at Al Mazunah Free Zone straddling the Oman-Yemen border in Dhofar Governorate has so far handled over 540,000 tonnes of cargo transported by over 35,000 trucks crisscrossing the free zone.
These volumes, generated from June 2020, when the inland port first commenced operations, and end-March 2021, underscore the free zone’s growing importance as a hub for trade and commerce between the two countries.
Commenting on the role played by the inland port, Faiz Awaidan Qumsit, Operations Supervisor at Al Mazunah Land Port, said, “The Port witnesses daily active traffic. It receives an average of 100 trucks daily, while at peak times the number reaches 170. The Directorate General of Customs makes great efforts along with other government bodies, handling good inspection operations prior the importing or exporting companies obtain customs release data.”
The official said in an interview published in Duqm Economist, the newsletter of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), said the land port ensure that the inspection of each truck, as well as customs declaration processes, takes under 30 minutes.
Significantly, the inland port handles a variety of merchandise, including cars, fish, fruits and vegetables, and food and consumer goods. “Exporting fish through the port is of high interest to importers and exporters, as more
than 2,146 fish trucks carrying over 16,000 tonnes have been received, exporting fish outside Oman through the ports of Salalah, Sohar and other land ports. More than 2,000 truckloads of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables with a load of about 50,000 tonnes were received in the port,” he said.
The inland port – the second of its kind in the Sultanate (the first having been set up at Khazaen Economic City in Barka – was established following an agreement signed in April 2020 between Al Mazunah Free Zone Management and Al Madina Logistics Company. That pact led to the establishment of a specialised company, Al Mazunah Land Port Company, to manage and operate the inland port.
The facility contributes to the development and improvement of services related to customs inspection and handling of goods, thus increasing trade flows between Oman and Yemen. In the wake of its establishment, a qualitative improvement has been witnessed in the handling of logistics within the Free Zone, particularly with regard to the handling of containers.
Recently, Al Mazunah Land Port received the international code ‘OMMFZ’ as part of its accreditation to be an international land port for exports and imports by the International Organisation of Standardisation, an agency of the United Nations.
The code allows the inland port to be qualified as an international trading hub approved by the competent body of the United Nations to facilitate the movement of shipping containers from the source country to the inland port in Al Mazunah. Goods destined for the inland port are not subject to customs inspection in all transit areas until they reach the Port, and vice versa.
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