According to Hilal al Balushi, Business Development Manager at Port of Duqm, much of the 65 hectares of land offered for logistics related investments has already been leased by various local and international players. They include companies specialising in the storage of industrial salt, multi-commodity warehousing, storage of heavy equipment and machinery, warehousing of oilfield equipment and spares, depot operations and related activities.
"Almost 95 per cent of this real estate has already been booked, with the result that we are now embarking on Phase 2, which offers a further 100 hectares for investment. Further phases will be announced for investment and development based on demand growth," Al Balushi told Duqm Economist, the quarterly newsletter of the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD).
In addition to its mandate as port authority, Port of Duqm is also the operator of the port's various terminals, the landlord authority of the industrial and logistics clusters, and the 'Single Focal Point for Investors'.
Duqm Industrial Land Company (DILC) has been granted a concession to manage 5,000 hectares of land exclusively earmarked for industrial and logistics activities within a radius of a few kilometres from the port. Of this land area, around 2,000 hectares are set aside for medium to heavy industrial and petrochemicals related investments.
The clusters' proximity to the port, which in turn is strategically located vis a vis markets in the wider Gulf, Middle East, Indian sub continent and East Africa, makes it advantageous for investors to consider Duqm as a hub for their operations, says Al Balushi.
The logistics zone is located within three kilometres of the commercial terminal, giving logistics companies access to the wider market. Investors can look at Duqm as a base for the warehousing and storage of their commodities for ultimate distribution across the region.
Last week, Duqm Industrial Land Company leased a 50,000 sq metre plot to Egypt based engineering and pipeline contractor, Petroleum Projects & Technical Consultations Co (Petrojet) at the port. Land usufruct agreements have already been signed with distributors of oilfield equipment and tubular goods, pipes, drilling services and logistics service providers.
Source Link: www.omanobserver.om