The Omani ports of Qaboos and Salalah received 770,900 tons of goods during the first quarter of 2002 compared to 629,200 goods during the corresponding period in 2001, a 22.5 percent rise, reported the Sultanate’s Ministry of Economy.
Salalah Port absorbed 229,600 tons of goods in the first three months of 2002, a 120 percent rise compared with figures from the previous year. Goods unloaded at Qaboos reached 431,300 thousand tons during the same period, a 9.2 percent decrease compares to 2001 figures.
Goods unloaded at the two ports included foodstuffs, construction materials and vehicles The number of ships anchored at the two ports fell by 28.9 percent during the first quarter of this year to 367 compared to 516 ships in 2001.
The Port of Salalah is located in the Southern Dhofar Region of Oman on the Indian Ocean. The Salalah Port Services Company (SPS) manages the harbor. The company is a joint venture, 30 percent controlled by foreign investment and 70 percent controlled by the Omani government. In 1999, the government appointed SPS as project manager of a newly formed free trade zone located adjacent to the port. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
