Work on new Salalah logistics center starts

Algeposa, the large Spanish logistics company specialising in grain and food distribution, started work on building a 12,000 square metre warehouse near Salalah Port to store and distribute grains and other commodities around the region. The work is now progressing. The company earlier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Port of Salalah for the project. The Salalah hub, which is the combined synergies of the Port of Salalah, Salalah Free Zone and Salalah Airport, has attracted global players like US Gypsum, Saltic, and DHL to start operations in Salalah between 2013 and 2015. "Using the value proposition we offer that combines excellent location, world class infrastructure, attractive business incentives, and highly skilled management, we've been able to attract nine new international businesses to set up at Salalah,- said Peter Ford, CEO of Port of Salalah, in a statement posted on MSM web site. "The Port of Salalah is still, and will always be, a significant transshipment hub. We add a huge amount of value to shipping line networks. The next phase is for cargo owners and logistics providers to take advantage of this massive backbone of connectivity that Salalah's advantageous location offers,- Ford added. Port of Salalah's 2011 transshipment versus hinterland (inbound) cargo was 96 per cent, which translates into Salalah handling about 26 per cent of all local cargo and almost 90 per cent of containers handled in Oman. With the RO55 million investment announced this year into the port's general cargo terminal and liquid bulk handling capabilities, activities at the Port of Salalah are expected to diversify in commodities and products such as limestone, coal, caustic soda, rock phosphate, and increase the percentage of local cargo imported and exported over the years. The port's container volume in the grew by 15 per cent year on year to 2.757 million TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit), against 2.394 million TEU in the third quarter of last year, while general cargo (non-container) volume also grew to 5.2 million tonnes from 4.9 million tonnes last year. Strong growth The financial impact of the strong growth in volumes for 2012 is that total revenue grew by 12 per cent to RO41.6 million, compared to RO37.2 million for the same nine-month period last year, while the company's net profits have increased to RO5.1 million from R0871,000 for the same period of 2011. Abdul Aziz Ali Shanfari, Chairman at Port of Salalah, said, "We look forward to the continuation of our successful collaboration with government investiture into the infrastructural development of the port, airport, and rail projects envisioned for Salalah, and for the increasing connectivity in Oman and its regional role in logistics. Port of Salalah's expansion projects will serve the Government of Oman's vision for continued stability and consistent growth both short and long term.- "Many businesses have expressed interest in the general cargo expansion and we expect it to provide the kind of benefit to the customers and the local economic development that grows the port's contribution to the local, regional and global markets sustainably,- added Shanfari. The Port of Salalah has gone through phases of phenomenal development in its 14 years of operation. The port has handled an average of 3 million containers annually in the past four years, in May 2012 marking its 30 millionth container and highest quarterly container volume in the port's history. From Times Of Oman